Abbeville — Thanks to an agreement between Wiregrass Georgia Technical College and the Wilcox County Board of Education, some students in the county soon will be able to earn college credits while they are still in high school.

During the regular BOE meeting Tuesday, Superintendent Steve Smith told board members representatives from Wiregrass will be in the WCHS cafeteria today (March 14) at 6 p.m. to talk to parents and students about the possibilities for the next school year. Everyone who is interested is invited to attend this parent information night.

Students ages 16 and up will be able to take ACCEL college courses, summer college courses, dual-enrollment courses and participate in the Monday Career Academy if they meet Wiregrass’s requirements.

It will be possible, Assistant Superintendent Julie Childers said, for juniors and seniors to complete a total of six college courses before they graduate from high school if they take advantage of this program. “We really are excited about this partnership with Wiregrass,” Childers said.

Teachers from Wiregrass will come to Wilcox County for the ACCEL and dual-enrollment courses. Students may go to the Wiregrass campus in Fitzgerald for classes on Monday when the county schools are not in session and during the summer.

Smith also announced that the PASS program will be funded for another year, and BOE members approved a calendar for the 2013-2014 school year.

Originally, the Patriot Academy for Student Success (PASS) received federal funding for three years, and the program currently is in its third year. Smith has received word, however, that the county will be receiving $341,951 for another year, so the program which operates on Mondays and Tuesday through Thursday after school can continue.

Ginny Clack serves as director of the PASS program which provides remedial assistance for students who need it and a variety of enrichment activities. Students enrolled in the program have made a number of educational trips.

According to the calendar that was adopted Tuesday, Wilcox County students will start to school on Thursday, Aug. 1 and finish the year with a half day on Thursday May 29 with graduaton slated for Saturday, May 31.

Teacher pre-planning is set for July 29-31. Because of a continued shortfall in state funding, teachers and administrators will be required to take off eight days without pay (work-adjusted days) Oct. 8-9, Dec. 20, Jan. 2-3, Feb. 18 and April 1-2.

Other personnel including paraprofessionals, secretaries, lunchroom workers, janitors and bus drivers will take only five days. Everyone in the school system will have a week of holidays for Thanksgiving; two weeks for Christmas and a week in March for spring break.

In other action, Wilcox BOE:

• Accepted $468,000 in E-rate funding which requires a 10% local match to update wireless capability in all the schools.

• Signed an agreement with the Department of Juvenile Justice that will provide a person in the schools two days a week to assist with attendance and other issues. The DJJ wants to help the school system, Smith said, be pro-active in handling absenteeism and discipline.

• Agreed to accept bids for a more energy efficient lighting system at the high school. Board members will review the costs before deciding whether to proceed with this project.

• Decided to accept bids for window tinting at the middle school and a lunchroom ice machine at the high school at the April meeting.

• Agreed to request a waiver from the state to increase class size above the maximum. This has been an issue only in a few classes at the high school level, Childers said. No elementary or middle school classes have more than the maximum number of students required by the state.