A new addition to our Falcon Family is the Middle College Program. This program will allow people in the foster system, ages sixteen and older, to work with the Department of Education to earn their high school credits and be awarded their high school diploma by the end of the two-year program. Simultaneously, they will also be enrolled full-time in college classes so that by the end of the two years, they will also receive an associate’s degree. As the program has only just begun, there are currently just under twenty students enrolled in the program with a new cohort on its way next semester. The program is currently accepting referrals to join the spring 2025 semester. Referrals can be entered through the Fairmont State University website or the KVC website. The Middle College program focuses on providing these students with a safe and enriching environment where they can focus on pursuing their education. Middle College students live in Prichard Hall year-round. They are also provided with a meal plan alongside their sixty-dollar-a-month allowance, just as any foster youth is given. On average, only around 3% of children in foster care will go on to achieve a college degree, this program works to provide the necessary opportunities to increase this number. The enrolled students are given the same rights to visit family members, just as any other person in the foster system would receive.