JAY — There is a proposal in the works to enable students to earn college credits during their high school years that would count toward meeting both high school-graduation and college-degree requirements.

School Superintendent Robert Wall has discussed the project with Maine Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron, he said, and she believes it is doable.

Wall gave an overview to Jay School Committee members during a meeting Thursday night.

It is important to realize, Wall said, that unless there is more responsive and rigorous use of the fiscal, operational and regional resources, the small Maine high school will not be an effective service provider to secondary-aged students.

The goals of the program would be to:

• Provide students with a more meaningful secondary-school experience and to provide for the viability of regional cooperatives.

• Strengthen the partnership of small regional high schools with the University of Maine at Farmington, as well as postsecondary vocational institutions such as Central Maine Community College.

• Make better use of scarce educational resources and the community-based infrastructure.

• Optimize student opportunities to use their time and talents in preparation for college and career paths.

• Break down the barriers that serve the needs of the current educational system but do not serve the needs of students well.

Among the solutions Wall gave are to provide opportunities for college courses to be offered at Jay High School during the regular and extended day/year using a combination of local certified teachers and/or UMF and CMCC.

Under the proposal, some students would be able to attend UMF for their full senior year of high school and receive dual credit and full tuition support in lieu of attending Jay High School, Wall said.

It initially would work to provide rigorous career paths in target areas such as math, computer science, geology, chemistry, sociology and energy.

It would also provide nontraditional permissions in the areas of certification, tuition and work agreements.

Wall said they would look into available federal funds to help with the project.

This is one initiative the Jay school system is looking into to expand students’ opportunities, make the school system more viable and use tax dollars more efficiently, Wall said. It is in addition to an academy-type structure to offer course in engineering, among others.

There has been one meeting on the proposal, and a second one will be held this month.

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