Gateway Technical College tells Wilmot board dual-credit programs expanded; district students earned hundreds of credits

Katie Graff, director of high school partnerships at Gateway Technical College, told the Wilmot UHS School District board that the college’s five primary dual‑credit options are well established in the district and producing measurable results.

Graff said the programs—transcripted credit taught by qualified high‑school teachers, Start College Now courses taken on Gateway’s campus, high‑school academies, youth apprenticeship placements, and contract‑for‑service classes—combined to offer 37 sections to Wilmot students in 2023–24. “We had 380 different high school students who were participating in dual credit through Gateway last year,” Graff said, adding that many students took more than one course (584 enrollments) and that nearly 1,500 credits were earned.

Graff noted that transcripted‑credit arrangements are cost neutral for the district because Wahington Gateway bills tuition and fees and the district bills back for teacher time; she estimated that transcripted credit alone saved the district roughly $220,000 in tuition and fees. She also described a VIP direct‑admit project that resulted in 100 graduating Wilmot seniors being admitted to Gateway, and she highlighted that students who earn certain credentials can generate funding back to the district through state programs administered by DWD and DPI—Graff said the district could receive up to $1,000 per pupil for credential attainment.

Board members and administrators asked about data and curriculum; Graff said the Wisconsin Technical College System is transitioning reporting tools and that she will return with more detailed dashboards. The presentation emphasized vocational‑technical fields—welding, small power equipment, entrepreneurship, early childhood education—and the district’s increasing youth‑apprenticeship participation (nine apprentices last year; administration said the figure is near 30 this year).

Graff said Gateway is the top institution in Wisconsin for awarding dual credit across technical colleges and the UW system. The board thanked Graff for the partnership and asked staff to track dual‑credit metrics on the district’s “redefining ready” metrics and future agenda items.

The presentation closed with Graff inviting questions; no formal board action on the Gateway contract was recorded at the meeting.