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Dear Friends,

Serving the Commonwealth of Kentucky as Commissioner of Education was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. Much of my team’s work during that period centered on transforming the high school experience. Data and conversations with students and families made it clear that high school was not meaningfully preparing many of our students for success in college or the workforce, and that, in many cases, the core requirements for the high school diploma took much less than the prescribed four years to complete.

With that understanding, we expanded access to high quality postsecondary experiences for high school students, including industry recognized certificates, apprenticeships, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate coursework, and of course, college coursework. Expanding access to college courses positively impacted the high school experiences of thousands of students, and in alignment with the findings of educational research, increased the likelihood of students’ matriculation to college after graduation. Further, I saw first-hand the power allowing well-prepared high school students to access college coursework.

When I arrived at ����ר�� in 2021, there were very few things I insisted should be part of the institution’s path forward. One of those areas was expanding high school students’ access to high quality Christian coursework through ����ר��. Serving high school students was not new for ����ר��, but beginning in 2021, we worked to expand their access through the establishment of ����ר��’s Early College, the expansion of courses available to high schoolers, and the establishment of ����ר��’s Partner Schools program. Today, with nearly 50 partner schools, domestic and international, ����ר�� serves more high school students through dual enrollment and Early College coursework than ever before, with growing numbers of those students matriculating to ����ר�� following high school graduation.

With the continued expansion of postsecondary coursework available to high school students across the U.S., it has become common for first-year students to begin their college careers with accumulated college credit. The only question for ����ר�� was whether we intended to be one of the postsecondary options high schools and students choose from as an early college partner. As you will read in this issue of ����ר�� Magazine, our response has been an unequivocal yes.

Yours in Christ’s Service,

Wayne D. Lewis, Jr.