Cadiz Rotary Club & Thoroughbred Academy Benefit Many Including Ethridge Family

Every dollar that’s raised through the 56^th Annual Cadiz Rotary Radio Auction eventually finds its way back into the hands of Trigg Countians who need a lift at their most critical moment.

Just ask Christina Ethridge.

A 26-year veteran English teacher for Trigg County High School and Hopkinsville Community College, she’s a wife and the mother of Alex, Anthony and Avery — three students who have, or will have, gone on to see post-secondary success thanks to Rotary scholarships and Thoroughbred Academy.

And as she noted to a full crowd at the W.J. Hopson Kickoff Breakfast earlier this week, a future with college would’ve been far more difficult had this support not been available.

College isn’t for every high school graduate, and that’s fine. But when specific barriers — namely tuition and transportation — stand in the way of those who seek to achieve higher learning in any capacity, it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.

Back in the mid-2000s, Ethridge said the right questions started to get asked.

Checking in with TCHS Guidance Counselor Janay Futrell, Ethridge said that as of the 2008-09 school year, only 19 students were taking dual-credit English classes in preparation for the future. Those numbers remained fairly consistent, until Ethridge noted the “Advance Kentucky” initiative pushed more students toward AP courses between 2010-12 — which heightened course load challenges, but didn’t guarantee dual-credit without high marks on end-of-year AP testing.

Ethridge said even then, it was easy to discern that students who began college courses while in high school had a better support system — surrounded by teachers, families and like-minded peers interested in dual-credit work.

The Cadiz Rotary Club, she added, made these possibilities realities.

In the last decade, members of Thoroughbred Academy have exponentially increased. Ethridge said a dual-credit partnership with HCC in 2013-14, taught in Trigg County, brought about 148 enrollments through the two-year school and another 118 through MSU.

Fast-forward to the past two years, Ethridge confirmed this dual enrollment sits between 650 and 700 Trigg County students — a far cry from the 19 just 14 years ago.

The current rate for one credit hour at MSU is $172. Ethridge said with more than 4,800 credit hours completed through Thoroughbred Academy, the full value is worth more than $825,000.

What’s more, Ethridge said, is that in-state tuition at MSU for her in 1992 was $1,410. Today, it’s $9,432 — making dual-credit all the more valuable.