Districts rapidly add programs to give all learners jump on higher

By: Matt Zalaznick District Administration, March 2015

N inth graders in North Carolina take all their classes on the campus of a major state university. Early-college high school students in Connecticut can gain an inside track to one of the world’s largest tech companies. Online and blended learners in Michigan can spend a fifth year in high school and graduate with an associate’s degree.

Aside from providing a money-saving jump-start on college, the rapid spread of early-college high school programs is spurring closer collaboration between K12 and higher ed around preparing students for the rigors of college life and coursework.

“This definitely provides a really good opportunity for K12 and college partners to be more explicit about their shared expectations for students,” says Joel Vargas, vice president of Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit that, among other initiatives, helps districts design early-college programs. “They have figured out a way to share responsibility for providing students an opportunity to move seamlessly into and through secondary education.”

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