A thriving partnership between Palomar College and Bonsall High has enabled students there to earn high school and college credit at the same time. With graduation approaching, 18 Bonsall students recently completed Digital Publishing Certificates.

BONSALL, CA — At Bonsall High School, a campus of 360 9th-12th graders north of San Marcos, 18 students recently earned college-level Digital Publishing Certificates thanks to a Dual Enrollment agreement between the school and Palomar College.

“These are credits and grades that will stay with them,” said Liz LaBlond, a full-time high school teacher in Bonsall and adjunct professor at Palomar College. “This is really powerful for the students, and really helpful for the schools—it’s a win-win for everybody.”

In order to complete the certificate, the teens had to take a sequence of four Palomar College courses, provided at the high school during the day, at no cost to the students. LaBlond said the group of certificate awardees included two sophomores, with the rest being juniors and seniors.

“We are proud of the work that our students are doing even before they graduate high school,” said Superintendent/President Dr. Joi Lin Blake. “It’s inspiring to see students as young as 16 getting a head start on their college education while they work toward their diploma.”

LaBlond said the Digital Publishing Certificates will open up so-called “middle-skills” job opportunities to the students directly out of high school.

“They can go into a business and help with social media, website design, any marketing materials that need to be created,” she said. “I’m also looking at it from a teacher’s perspective—yes, they’re getting college credit for free, but the bigger thing is, we’re teaching them what college is. That’s the bigger takeaway.”

Palomar College is proud to have Dual Enrollment partnerships with the following 12 local high schools:

Bonsall High School
Escondido Charter High School
Escondido High School
Fallbrook Union High School
Guajome Park Academy
High Tech High North County
Julian Union High School
Orange Glen High School
Rancho Buena Vista High School
San Marcos Unified School District
Valley Center High School
Vista High School
Palomar College classes are always available to high school students for free. For more information about the Dual Enrollment program at Palomar College, please visit https://www.palomar.edu/dualenrollment/

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Media contacts:

Laura Gropen, Public Affairs, lgropen@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150 x2152

Tom Pfingsten, Public Affairs, tpfingsten@palomar.edu, 760-744-1150 x2960