Owsley County student wins iPad, spotlighting dual-credit opportunities

A free iPad put Owsley County High School junior Daniel Freeman in the spotlight, but the real message from the drawing was about a college path students can start before graduation. The Owsley County School District congratulated Freeman after he won the device in Hazard Community and Technical College’s Dual-Credit Days drawing, a small prize tied to a much larger push to keep Owsley students engaged in college and career planning.

That push matters in Booneville, where families weigh transportation, cost and access when deciding how far a student can go after high school. OCHS’s guidance office says its mission is to support students’ personal, academic and college-career development and to help close achievement, attainment and opportunity gaps. The district’s public recognition of Freeman turned a drawing into a reminder that dual-credit opportunities are available now, not later.

Kentucky defines dual credit as a college-level course in which a student receives both high school and postsecondary credit upon completion. HCTC says the program lets students earn high school and college credit at the same time, save money on tuition, save time toward a degree and explore career interests while still in high school. KCTCS says those pathways are designed to carry students from high school into college programs and, in some cases, on to four-year institutions.

Students and families also have a direct financial incentive to pay attention. The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority administers the state’s Dual Credit Scholarship Program, and KHEAA says Kentucky high school and home-school students, at any grade level, receive the discounted dual-credit rate for every dual-credit course they take through a participating postsecondary institution. The Kentucky Department of Education also draws a clear line between dual enrollment and dual credit, saying a student must receive high school credit for the course to count as dual credit.

The timing fits a broader statewide push. Kentucky Community and Technical College System marked Dual Credit Week from April 13-17, 2026, to recognize the students, counselors, teachers, parents and college staff who keep the program moving. Federal research found that roughly one in five Kentucky students in grades 11 and 12 participated in dual enrollment courses between the 2009-10 and 2012-13 school years, and national data from the Institute of Education Sciences shows the program has grown to nearly 2.5 million students in 2022-23, about one-third of all 11th- and 12th-grade public-school enrollments.

For OCHS juniors and seniors, the next step is straightforward: check with the guidance office, ask how HCTC courses fit high school schedules, and confirm whether a class will count for both high school and college credit. In Owsley County, that kind of early planning can mean less debt, less time to a credential and a clearer path after graduation.