On Friday night, September 7, 2023, Columbus North High School won an award for College and Career Readiness including a $250,000 grant from the Indiana Department of Education. North qualified for the award based on the high number of dual credits earned by students and the large number of scholarships provided to students through The Heritage Fund and The Bull Dog Alumni Association. Presenting the awards at the Indiana Roof Ballroom Gala were Indiana Secretary of Education, Dr. Katie Jenner, her assistant, Dr. Rebecca Estes, and several sponsors of the event.
Principal David Clark and English teacher Barbara Handt (IU ACP Instructor) wrote the winning nomination. Included in the award is a grant for $250,000. This money will be used for staff professional development, purchase of reading materials and software, adding information about dual credit and AP classes to the counseling website, and building out a study space near the library.
In the award nomination, Clark and Handt highlighted North’s many accomplishments. The school currently offers approximately 110 dual credit classes through the C-4 program and the traditional academic dual credit and AP courses. Students in the C-4 program earned over 2,000 credits in the 2023 school year. This is an increase of over 30% in the last 5 years. North has made special strides with Hispanic minority students who have made a 33% improvement in earning dual credits. Also, North students have an extra advantage of being supported in dual credit and AP courses through grants and scholarships from the Bull Dog Alumni Association and the Heritage Fund. All in all, North students are excelling thanks to the efforts of their dual credit and AP teachers, their counselors, the administrators, and generous alumni.