Dec. 8, 2025
By Farah Afifi
Editor
The second marking period is in full swing at LHS, but for the 26 seniors enrolled in the Lyndhurst College Acceleration Program, or L-CAP, their first college semester is just wrapping up.
For a second consecutive year, this program allows the high school’s seniors to get a taste of college life by taking undergraduate courses on Felician University’s Rutherford Campus. These students spend their mornings at LHS before taking their cars or boarding a shuttle around lunchtime, which drives them 2.5 miles to their classes.
“[The program] gives you a head start that many students from other towns don’t have.”
L-CAP students are required to take at least six college credits, which is equivalent to 10 high school credits, during the fall semester, and they have the option to continue taking classes during the spring semester. Except for a $50 registration fee, all courses are fully funded by the Lyndhurst Board of Education, which pays Felician $100 per college credit.
This semester, students were able to select from about 80 courses and wound up choosing the following 14: College Algebra, Color and Digital Photography, French Language and Culture, Fundamentals of Marketing, Introduction to Computer Graphics, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Introduction to Field of Exercise, Introduction to Psychology, Management Information Systems, Principles of Financial Accounting, Principles of Healthcare Administration, Principles of Sociology, Public Speaking and Two-Dimensional Design.
School counselor Ms. Truncellito, who is LHS’ point person for L-CAP, said the program is a valuable partnership between LHS and Felician.
“The kids get exposure to the college lifestyle, the college experience [and] the expectations from college professors,” Truncellito said.
She said in early 2024, LHS was exploring different options and speaking with other school districts in the area to see what they were doing to facilitate the transition from high school to college.
“Felician offered us the best deal, and what Lyndhurst really liked about the Felician opportunity was the idea that the kids got to go to a campus, experience a college academic building [and] access the gym, the cafeteria and the computer labs,” Truncellito said. “That was not an option for some of the other programs we considered.”
Truncellito said participating in L-CAP raises students’ academic motivation and confidence.
“If they’re in high school and they’re going toe to toe with true college students, hanging in there and getting good grades, they will absolutely be able to do it at the college level,” Truncellito said.
Senior Chase Paglio, who is enrolled in Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to Psychology, said this semester has helped him prepare for his postsecondary education next year.
“If I went into college not knowing what a college class was like, it would definitely be a big slap in the face… and now I kind of understand what to expect,” Paglio said.
He said he feels fully supported by the faculty and staff at Felician and LHS.
“Ms. Truncellito is always checking up on us, making sure that [everything] is going [well], and with the Felician staff, they recognize that we’re high school students and that we have other classes [at LHS], so they are not like, ‘This is the only class you should worry about,’” Paglio said.
Senior Gianna Lembo, who is taking Fundamentals of Marketing, Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to Psychology, said her favorite course is Introduction to Criminal Justice.
“Many of the skills and lessons we learned in that class have to do with becoming a lawyer and how the criminal justice system works, so it has just influenced my career goal,” Lembo said.
While Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to Psychology are available only to LHS students, the other classes offered through L-CAP are open to college students as well.
Lembo said she likes sharing a classroom with Felician’s undergraduates.
“Being in a class with actual college students feels more real, and I can also see how they handle things,” Lembo said.
She said she would not hesitate to recommend L-CAP.
“[The program] gives you a head start that many students from other towns don’t have,” Lembo said. “It makes you very competitive in college applications, and it gives you college credits, which can save you money on tuition in the long run for the college you want to attend.”
Senior Isabella Apple, who is taking Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to Psychology, said she enrolled in L-CAP to get ready for life as a full-time college student.
“It’s a little bit intimidating at first, but I think it definitely prepares you, and the two classes I’m taking are probably going to really help me with my [criminal justice] major,” Apple said.
She said her courses at Felician are more rigorous and time-consuming than her classes at LHS.
“You really have to engage with the class so you don’t fall behind,” Apple said. “[Professors] don’t [make] exceptions if you miss the deadline, so you have to be on top of everything. Even if it’s a minute late, they’ll just give you a zero, while high school [teachers] might be more lenient,” Apple said.
She said an assignment she found especially challenging was writing a four-page mini paper in Introduction to Psychology that related mental health and suicide to a psychological theory.
“As a class, we had to take the time to understand how to use [American Psychological Association] format for our psychology research paper,” Apple said. “At first, it was really challenging, but it paid off learning to use a different format that I have never written in before.”
Now, she is focused on excelling in her final exams for Introduction to Criminal Justice and Introduction to Psychology.
“Preparing for these finals teaches me to push myself, balance my time, stay organized and prioritize tasks that need to get done, which are skills that will be needed in college,” said Apple.
Click here to find out what seniors have enjoyed most about their first semester in L-CAP.
