After spending eight periods working on their high school core and elective classes, many sophomores are staying after school to work toward earning college credits.

Students who are on their second year of Danbury ECO are currently enrolled in college classes taught by Naugatuck Valley Community College instructors in DHS classrooms.

DECO stands for Danbury Early College Opportunity. It is a program, which began last year, that allows up to 100 incoming freshmen to earn college credit while in high school.

Not only can they earn college credit, but they can get an associate’s degree by the time they graduate high school.

Three college classes are available to sophomores this year: Introduction to Public Speaking, Introduction To Computers, and Introduction to Digital Arts. The professors are Greg Fimmano, Ann Marie Somma, and Kathleen Brady.

Introduction to Public Speaking is held after school on Wednesday and Thursday. Because of high interest, there are two sections of that class.

The purpose of the class is to teach the sophomores how to present effective informative and persuasive speeches.

Students overall are pleased with the class and have learned much about the art of public speaking. “It helped me get over my anxiety of speaking in front of groups,” Makayla Miranda said.

 Introduction to Computers is held first and second periods every day but Thursday. Currently, students are learning about Microsoft Office. They also take computer simulations and online tests.

“This class has helped me gain a deeper understanding of Microsoft, and exposed me to all the different things I can do with it,” Natalee Seipio said.

 Instructor Greg Fimmano noted how the classes work. “It’s very interesting because there are different dynamics in each class. Some classes are where they need to be.”

 Introduction to Digital Arts is a half-year course that runs fourth period. Students are currently researching and discussing Gustav Klimt, a symbolist painter. Then they will begin working on a digital arts project inspired by him.

“This class allowed me to better understand the illustrator program and how to find and cite art history facts,” Kayla Downs said.

Each class is worth three points toward a student’s associate’s degree; that is 63 credits in total, and one credit toward their high school diploma.

In the future, Danbury ECO students will take Programming I and II and Intro to Operating Systems.

As for the difficulty of these classes, Miranda describes it as, “A normal high school class but more work.”

Sarah Roy, director of the program, overall is pleased with how it is going.

So far, the majority of students are doing  well in the DECO courses, she said. As with any course, the key to success is hard work and communication.

Those who attend class, complete the assignments, and ask questions are the students meeting with success, she said.