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By 2:45 p.m. the regular school day at August Boeger Middle School had already ended, but one class is about to start. More than 20 eighth graders drop their backpacks and settle into desks 鈥� not for extra credit but for college credit.

These 13- and 14-year-old students in East San Jose are taking their first college course, an entry-level class on career planning. This middle school is one of the first in the state to offer a college-level course. In the coming years, the San Jose Evergreen Community College District wants all middle school students in this school district to be able to complete three college courses before they start high school, and soon, the district plans to offer other courses, such as聽sociology and ethnic studies, said Beatriz Chaidez, the chancellor for the community college district.

Middle schoolers have long been eligible to enroll in college classes in California, though only a few, high-achieving students actually do it. By offering a college class at a middle school 鈥� especially one in a high-poverty area 鈥斅爐he community college district is looking to make that enrollment easier. The class is taught by a middle school staff member, and it鈥檚 reserved exclusively for middle school students.

But with so few programs, there is little research about whether students are benefitting, and the local faculty union is worried middle school students might not be ready.

Chaidez disagrees. 鈥淣avigating (college) as early as middle school is unheard of in their community,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o when they experience success, it really motivates them to continue.鈥�

California is increasingly pushing high schools to offer community college classes directly to students during the regular school day, a set-up known as 鈥渄ual enrollment.鈥� Unlike AP classes, which include expensive exams and are limited to certain subjects and high-performing students, these community college classes cover a range of topics and are open to all students. By 2030, California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Chiristian wants all high school students to graduate with

Chaidez wants to go further. She wants every local high school student to be able to complete聽about 20 college courses by the time they graduate 鈥� enough to earn an associate鈥檚 degree.

CalMatters reached out to the college district鈥檚 faculty union, which was surprised to learn the district is offering classes at a middle school.

鈥淭his opens up some problems,鈥� said Jessica Breheny, an English professor and the union鈥檚 vice president. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure there are 12-year-olds that are college-ready, but there are just less of them and it鈥檚 less likely. Developmentally, they have other things going on.鈥�

Research that high schoolers who take college classes are more likely to attend college and graduate, but there鈥檚 little research on how middle school students fare, said John Fink, a senior researcher at Columbia University鈥檚 Community College Research Center. 鈥淣ationally, and in most states, this is very, very rare, and in many states this is not allowed.鈥� Instead, he said the focus is typically on enrolling more 10th, 11th and 12th graders in college courses.

A college-level course, with a few middle school games

About 10% of California鈥檚 high school students took a community college class in the 2021-22 school year, according to by professors at UC Davis using the most recent data. California鈥檚 community college system doesn鈥檛 track how many middle school students take college courses.

So far, the Mount Pleasant Elementary School District, which includes August Boeger Middle School, offers only one college course, called 鈥淐areer Planning,鈥� and it鈥檚 almost indistinguishable from any other class on its campus. The college course is taught in a regular middle school classroom, and the professor, Oscar Lamas, already works at the middle school, where he鈥檚 a counselor. Perhaps the only noticeable difference is the timing: The middle school day ends at 2:30 p.m. and Lamas鈥� course starts at 2:45. He鈥檚 paid separately by the community college to teach the course.

Career Planning helps students learn about , practice resume-writing and learn psychological theories related to professional success. A governing board of college district professors, known as the Academic Senate, sets the objectives for each college course, but Lamas has broad discretion in teaching it. The Academic Senate responsible for setting the parameters of Lamas鈥� course did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The dean of the community college鈥檚 counseling department, Victor Garza, refused an interview request from CalMatters but issued a written statement. Garza said the middle school class is akin to other dual enrollment courses, which maintain the college鈥檚 鈥渁cademic rigor.鈥�

鈥淪ome adjustments might be needed to cater to the unique needs and experiences鈥� of students, he added.

On a Thursday before spring break, Lamas tries to make his class more fun by breaking the students into five teams to play a Jeopardy-style quiz game on the topic of the day, .

Natalie Mendoza, 14, becomes the default spokesperson of her team, named the 鈥淭acos R Us Club,鈥� but she answers the first question wrong, putting her team back 300 points and prompting her classmates to burst into chatter and analyze their mistakes.

As part of the class, she has to study a career, write a short essay about it and present it at a career fair. She picked intellectual property law. 鈥淎 lot of people say I鈥檓 assertive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 a really good trait for a lawyer, and I think it鈥檇 be fun to fight for people who have created stuff.鈥�

Natalie said she鈥檇 be the first in her family to attend college but she鈥檚 already planning to go and has a few schools in mind, including UC Berkeley and San Jose State. If she does attend one of those schools, her grade in this counseling class would be part of her official college transcript.

Breheny, with the union, said she鈥檚 concerned about the quality of the classes, especially once the college district begins teaching other subjects, such as ethnic studies.

鈥淔aculty designed their courses for adult learners,鈥� Breheny said. An ethnic studies class may cover topics such as sexual violence and genocide, she added 鈥� topics that may be difficult to convey to a middle schooler. 鈥淪ome of the material assumes a certain knowledge about the world, about politics, which you may not have at 11, 12, 13 years old.鈥�

High schools offer few dual enrollment classes

August Boeger Middle School sits at the base of the Diablo Range mountains, tucked between the ranch-style homes and strip malls that color East San Jose. Teachers and staff greet each other with mucho gusto instead of hello. All around the open-air campus, murals tell the story of the region鈥檚 multi-cultural heritage, especially its Mexican and Chicano roots.

That celebration of culture is a direct response to a history of adversity, Lamas said. 鈥淓ast San Jose has always been a marginalized, disadvantaged environment.鈥� As a result, schools in the community contend with education disparities, he said, such as a high dropout rate and a high teen pregnancy rate.

Offering a college class to these middle school students allows them to 鈥渟ee a possibility for their future that doesn鈥檛 exist within these walls here鈥� and can inspire them to reach for a higher goal, said Marisa Pe帽a, a school advisor.

Male students, Black and Latino students and students from rural areas in the community college courses offered at California鈥檚 school districts. California lawmakers have signed numerous bills in the hopes of expanding access but certain regions in the state, such as Los Angeles, enroll a higher percentage of students.

Natalie said she hopes to continue taking college courses when she starts at Mount Pleasant High School this fall, which is just around the corner from her middle school. But her options are limited.

Mount Pleasant High School offers just three community college courses, which serve about 10% of the school鈥檚 roughly 1,000 students, said Kyle Kleckner, the school district鈥檚 director of instructional services. All of the classes are in 鈥渕ultimedia鈥� studies, he said, which teaches students how to create their own podcasts or YouTube channels, along with other digital marketing skills.聽

Although Mount Pleasant High School鈥檚 dual enrollment is about on par with the state average, it trails other districts in the region. Less than 20 miles away, at high schools in the Milpitas Unified School District, roughly 25% of students enrolled in a community college class in 2021-22, according to the UC Davis analysis.

Finding professors to teach middle school

Part of the dual enrollment challenge is finding qualified college professors who are willing and able to work at a high school or middle school. Existing middle and high school teachers are allowed to teach college courses but they have to meet the qualifications, which usually include a master鈥檚 degree in the area of instruction. Most of California鈥檚 high school and middle school instructors a master鈥檚 degree, according to a study by the Public Policy Institute of California.

鈥淲e have graduation requirements that students have to accomplish,鈥� Kleckner said. 鈥淭he trick is finding that community college course that also fulfills those requirements and also finding a teacher who can teach it.鈥� He said Mount Pleasant High School is committed to expanding the number of college courses but noted that it鈥檚 smaller and therefore has fewer teachers who meet the requirements to teach a college course.

In turn, many college professors lack experience teaching children, said Breheny, who teaches at San Jose City College. 鈥淲e have had some problems already with dual enrollment where faculty have gone to different (high schools) to teach and have dealt with classroom management issues that they wouldn鈥檛 have in a college course.鈥� In one case, she said a college faculty member saw bullying in a high school classroom but didn鈥檛 feel equipped to respond.

Lamas has a master鈥檚 degree, which is required for most . He鈥檚 gentle with the middle school students in his class, occasionally awarding points in the Jeopardy game even when the answer isn鈥檛 perfect. Lamas had two quiz games planned that day, each one covering a different topic, but the first game took up almost all of the class time.

He ends class by taking questions about the upcoming final project. Although spring break is minutes away, the students sit still through the final minutes, except for the occasional joke and bursts of laughter. Not a single phone was in sight.

Once class ends, however, chatter ensues, the students pull out their phones, and staff escort them to the parking lot. While they may be taking a college course, they still must wait for their parents to pick them up.

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