Accelerate ASU helps triple the college-going rate for Washington school district

After partnering with Accelerate ASU, students from rural Washington’s Elma School District reimagine their futures

When Christopher Nesmith was hired as Elma School District’s superintendent in 2021, he hoped to develop a college-going culture for students.

Nesmith believed that early exposure to college-level coursework could help students build confidence, challenge assumptions and discover new possibilities for their future.

To make that vision a reality, he partnered with Accelerate ASU, a nationwide, university-based dual enrollment program that gives high school students access to affordable, flexible college courses.

He’s noticed that as more students find success in college courses, others are inspired to follow their lead.

“How do you make a cultural change? Well, I need to start with five kids, and I need to show five kids they can do it,” said Nesmith. “Then I show 10 kids that they can do it. Then 20 kids. Accelerate ASU is the gateway to our culture change.”

A practical starting place for rural districts

While the state of Washington offers a fully-funded dual enrollment program to in-state high schools, Nesmith said the program was an impractical starting place for a small, rural district like Elma. The format of the state’s program posed a challenge, requiring a new teacher and enough interested students to fill each course.

Accelerate ASU requires no additional staff to be hired, and students can choose from a variety of Universal Learner Courses (ULCs) based on their individual interests. ULCs are taught by ASU faculty in a variety of subjects including STEM, the humanities and more. ASU’s model is low-risk, as students only add a course to their transcript if they’re satisfied with their final grade.

Nesmith ultimately chose a hybrid approach, leveraging Accelerate ASU as a launching point for broader cultural change across the district.

The results have been significant. Between 2021 and 2024, Elma School District’s college-going rate rose from 8% to 24%, marking the highest rate in the district’s history.

Yet Nesmith believes the most meaningful outcomes can’t be captured by statistics alone.

“There’s not really a data indicator on hope, but it’s changed the hope indicator for students,” he says. “Now everything’s going better — in our athletics, we’re winning more games, more kids are turning out for activities and so much more.…Accelerate ASU is the solution that I think every rural school district in America needs to be looking at.”