More Teens Blending High School, College

By Julie Blair

Jodi Smith will celebrate two academic milestones this June, collecting her high school diploma first, then picking up her associate's degree from college a few weeks later.

The 18-year-old opted out of her 52-student high school in Sprague, Wash., last year and enrolled full time at Spokane Falls Community College through a state program called Running Start. Created in 1990, the program pays for qualified juniors and seniors to take classes at public community colleges and earn both high school and college credit.

"I have an older sister, and my family doesn't have the money to pay for us both to go to [college]," Ms. Smith said. "This is two...