ASU Prep Digital partners to offer college-level courses to Argentinian high school students

ASU Prep Digital and Belgrano Day School in Buenos Aires, Argentina, have partnered to offer students enhanced educational opportunities on an international scale.

ASU Prep Digital is a college prep option where online high school and university courses converge in a unique learning opportunity. The rigorous virtual school program prepares students for college acceptance and encourages them to start earning credit toward college majors and careers in an increasingly interconnected environment.

Belgrano Day School is a bilingual and coeducational school, offering a national and international curriculum for students ages 2 to 18 years old. Established in 1912, the school has a long-held tradition of academic excellence; achievements in art, drama and music production; and competitive sportsmanship.

Currently, two students from Belgrano Day School are taking concurrent courses with ASU Prep Digital. Fall 2018 was the first semester that students have been offered these courses through the partnership, which enables them to receive credit from a tier-one research university while still in high school.

Julie Young, CEO of ASU Prep Digital, said that this partnership is notable because it’s the first one their organization has formed in Argentina.

“We couldn’t be happier that our first partnership led to offering an innovative solution in providing Arizona State University courses to their high school students. We expect to continue to grow the relationship since the first students had a fantastic experience,” Young said.

Michelle Kort, global education coordinator for Belgrano Day School, believes that ASU Prep Digital was a great fit for their school because it offers a variety of course options, the right amount of student support and access to a quality educational experience within ASU.

“By taking and successfully completing courses through ASU Prep Digital, our students have challenged themselves to study at the college level and have gained confidence in their English language, organizational and digital abilities. Through the experience they have also gained exposure to an educational culture that is different from their own, which will help them become more flexible and more creative learners,” Kort said.

She hopes this partnership will continue to expand learning opportunities for their students.

“Global education and innovation are two of the most important pillars in our educational model. We hope to grow our partnership with ASU by expanding the number of students who engage in virtual learning opportunities, hopefully integrating these, in the long run, into our required curriculum,” Kort said. 

Valeria Harutiunian, 16, is one of the Belgrano students enrolled in courses through ASU Prep Digital. She said her favorite part is completing the assignments, which she finds interesting and fun. She also noted that she enjoys the independence and flexibility that comes with online courses and feels the experience will continue to benefit her in the future. 

“The online course has impacted my education positively as getting three credits at my age, in my opinion, is very impressive. Moreover, as I am planning to study abroad — probably in the U.S. — already having taken a college course gives me advantages, such as knowing how a U.S. semester course works.”

Tomas Soriano, 16, is also taking courses through ASU Prep Digital. He said the courses have been overall more informative and entertaining than others he has taken and that the online delivery has helped broaden his knowledge of computers and their functionalities.

“It’s a useful general skill to have in life as computers are becoming more relevant in society in almost every job,” Soriano said.

ASU Prep Digital is part of ASU Preparatory Academy, an innovative and thriving pre-K-12 school chartered by ASU. ASU Prep has grown to serve more than 2,900 students at five campuses in Arizona.