Early College High School Initiative The First Two Years

1
Early College High School InitiativeThe First
Two Years
May 22, 2004
2

" Okay, It's, actually, it's amazing for real.
Because it's different than going to regular
public or private school. Especially on a college
campus. Because first of all, you're around adult
people, and a whole bunch of 'em. And then you're
not around a whole bunch of older kids. Like
seniors and everybody else there. Kind of keep
you out of trouble." (DECA student) "..
Because then you have college courses by the time
you graduate from high school. We're already
going to have some college credit. That's going
to be fun. When you go to college you don't have
to go for a long time." (TAS student)
3
Mission

• To increase the number of first generation,
  low-income, English language learners, and
  students of color attaining an Associates
  degree or two years of college credit and the
  opportunity to earn a Baccalaureate degree.

4
Through the Initiative

• 12 Partners are establishing
• 134 Early College High Schools
• Antioch University Seattle (8)
• City University of New York (10)
• Foundation for California Community Colleges (15)
• KnowledgeWorks Foundation (8)
• Middle College National Consortium (20)
• North Carolinas New Schools Project (10)
• National Council of La Raza (12)
• Portland Community College (8)
• SECME, Inc. (8)
• Texas High School Project (15)
• Utah Partnership for Education (6)
• Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (14)

5
Early College Challenges

• Secondary/postsecondary partnerships
• Start up
• Financing
• Academic Outcomes

6
The First Two Years

• Key Issues ChallengesSecondary/postsecondary
  partnerships
• Establishing shared incentives buy-in from high
  schools and higher education for mission of ECHS
• Forging and negotiating efficient and equitable
  governance structures
• Creating and negotiating an integrated
  curriculum
• Acknowledging and working across the different
  cultures of secondary and postsecondary

7
The First Two Years

• Key Issues Challenges
• Start-up
• Staffing-up quickly
• Engaging communities and families in ECHS
  planning development
• Identifying buildings facilities for ECHS
• Recruiting our kids-- underserved young people
• Achieving true diversity in an open enrollment
  ECHS

8
The First Two Years

• Key Issues Challenges
• Financing
• Implementing ECHS in the current economic climate
  
• Securing funds for credits or tuition at colleges
  and universities
• Determining actual costs of early college high
  schools and adequacy of current funding formulas
• Tackling disparate funding for early college
  charter and regular public schools

9
The Second Year

• Key Issues Challenges
• Academics
• Planning backwards from the goal sixty college
  credits or Associates degree in 4-5 years
• Assessing where students are starting out
• Developing program designs that include catch
  up and challenge simultaneously
• Supporting teachers in developing in kids a
  college people identity
• Preparing students with the foundations for
  college level work in
• Literacy in the content areas
• Science
• Mathematics

10
Opening Day at Dayton Early College Academy
August 25, 2003