Warren Easton’s partnership with Delgado yields dividends for participants

They’ve become known as the “W-E 23.”

They were seniors of Warren Easton Charter High School who had dual enrollment at Delgado Community College and last week received their Residential Electrician Certificate of Technical Studies.

They will be, by the end of this month, graduates of both Warren Easton and the CTS program.

And as a testament to both the graduates and the Dual Enrollment Program at Delgado, 16 of the 23 graduates were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, the national academic honor society for two-year institutions. Membership in Phi Theta Kappa requires a minimum cumulative 3.4 grade-point average.

The “W-E 23” —23 Warren Easton Charter High School seniors — pose with their Residential Electrician Certificate of Technical Studies after they were awarded at Delgado Community College’s Commencement ceremony on May 16.

Leslie Falkins, an electrical instructor at Delgado who taught the young men had nothing but praise for “W-E 23.”

According to Falkins, their ability to “balance their high school academics and extracurricular activities, as well as their college curricula, work and families,” was most impressive.

In addition to their hard work in the classroom, the students also attribute their success to the support they’ve received out of the classroom. Everett Jones, Dual Enrollment (DE) coordinator, has been with the program at Delgado for six years and plays a huge role in the students’ success said Arnel Cosey, vice chancellor of student affairs: “Everett feels responsible for his students from the moment they enroll in the first class. It’s important to him for all of them to meet whatever their personal goals are while taking classes through Dual Enrollment. I’m always amazed at how much he knows about them as individuals.”

When asked how this success can be replicated for other area high schools and their students, Jones emphasized planning and communication as top priorities.

He said, based on the projected job openings and the income associated with those jobs, also known as high-wage, high-demand occupations, more students should consider career and technical education programs as viable career options.

Alexina Medley, principal of Warren Easton Charter High School, says of her school’s participation in this Dual Enrollment, “We are extremely proud of our students and our association with Delgado Community College. We look forward to continuing this partnership and expanding to other technical fields.”

This year’s graduates are the second cohort of Dual Enrollment students from Warren Easton to complete the program at Delgado.

For more information about Delgado’s Dual Enrollment program, call (504) 671-5037 or go to www.dcc.edu/admissions/dual-enrollment/.

This article originally published in the May 22, 2017 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.