Learn and Earn Early College High Schools
Early college high schools are popping up all over the state of
North Carolina thanks to funding provided by Governor Easley and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Presently, there are 35 early colleges in the state of North Carolina and by the year 2012 Governor Easley would like to have an early college high school in every county in the state of North Carolina.
Early college high schools are small schools designed so that students can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree or up to two years of college credit toward a Bachelor’s degree. Early college high schools have the potential to improve high school graduation rates and better prepare students for high-skill careers by engaging all students in a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum and compressing the number of years to a college degree.
Early college high schools are necessary because a postsecondary education is almost essential for financial and personal freedom in today’s economy. A four-year college graduate earns two-thirds more than a high school graduate does. An Associate’s degree translates into earnings significantly higher than those earned by an individual with a high school diploma alone.
The Early College High School Initiative focuses on young people for whom the transition into postsecondary education is now problematic. Its priority is to serve first-generation college goers, English language learners, and students of color, all of whom are statistically underrepresented in higher education.
For more information about the Early College High School Initiative visit the website at http://www.earlycolleges.org.
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We have an Early college high school in my district.I think it has its good intentions,but I’m skeptic about what students are really going to these schools.Ideally, students that come from poor family are the first to go there, but what happens if enrollment drops because no one is interested? Does the district allow children from more affluent families to go there to justify its existence?Does this early college school become another great idea that is used by the people that it was not intended for? I guess we will see.
Learn and Earn Early Colleges are purposefully designed to be small schools. The target population for early college high schools is first generation college students. However, the population in the early college high schools must mirror the population of the school district.
Learn and Earn Early College High Schools are leading the high school reform effort in most counties in North Carolina. What if all high schools become early college high schools in the future?