Early College 101
October 29, 2013
Early College High School Core Beliefs
• Early College Schools have high
expectations for all students
• Every student is capable of college-level
work or college and career readiness.
• Students need acceleration, not
remediation.
• Students learn more when challenged and
engaged by instruction and rigorous
academic work.
WHAT IS EARLY COLLEGE?
• Early college is an educational transformation
model, that was developed and implemented by
Jobs for the Future and our national partners, with
funding from the Gates Foundation, over the last 10
years.
• Early colleges are high schools and feeder middle
schools that bring college into high school to provide
underserved youth with a path to and through
postsecondary education.
WHAT IS EARLY COLLEGE?
• Features include:
– Students earn a high school diploma and up to
two years of transferrable college credit—tuition
free
– A rigorous instructional framework aligned to
college-ready standards
–A strong college-going culture
throughout the school
– Student-centered learning and student support
– Location on or near college campuses to build
students’ identity as college goers
Early College Overview
• Early college schools expose all students to college
coursework, preparing them for college and
careers, reducing time and cost toward
postsecondary degrees, and building a collegegoing culture for all students in the school.
• Early college schools are committed to serving
students underrepresented in higher education,
including low-income youth, students of color, firstgeneration college goers, and English language
learners.
THE RANGE OF EARLY COLLEGE DESIGNS
EARLY COLLEGE HIGH
SCHOOLS
• Small, autonomous schools,
operated in close connection
with postsecondary
institutions
• Students can earn an
Associate’s degree or up to 2
years of transferable college
credit
• Schools enroll about 100
students per grade and can
start in grades 6, 7, or 9
• Can be a STEM or CTEfocused school
BACK ON TRACK
THOUGH COLLEGE
• Small, autonomous schools
and programs targeted toward
older youth who are off track
from graduation or out of
school altogether
• Adapts Early College Design
to graduate students college
and career ready
• Provides supported transition
to and through the first year of
postsecondary, in
collaboration with a
postsecondary partner
EARLY COLLEGE
PATHWAYS
• Accelerated pathways for all
starting in ninth grade, with
course sequences aligned to
college-ready standards
• Designed so that as many
students as possible complete
a minimum of 12 college
credits, including gatekeeper
courses in math and English
composition: grade 7-13, 913, 7-14, and 9-14 designs
• Dual enrollment options may
also include STEM and CTE
options
• Aligned with postsecondary
programs of study
6
Early College Models
Concurrent / Dual Enrollment
• Programs in which the high school student
travels to the college campus or college faculty
travel to the high school
• Programs where the student takes a course from
a college instructor via distance education
• Articulation agreements where student receives
high school and college credits for the same
course.
Models
• Courses are held on college campus
• Courses are held on high school campus and taught by college staff or
teachers who have adjunct faculty status
• Online / distance learning courses
• Hybrid Models: combinations of the above
Bridge to Nowhere / Time is
the Enemy
REMEDIATION IS A DEAD END
Ensuring that All Students Are on Target for College
and Career Readiness before High School
A Strong Start
Eighth-grade
students’
academic
achievement has a larger impact on
their readiness for college by the end of
high school than anything that happens
academically in today’s high schools.
The Forgotten Middle, ACT
Of Every 100 9th Graders
• 68 graduated from high school on time
• 40 immediately enrolled in college
• 18 graduated from college on time
• 7,000 Students dropout every day
• 41% Of 18 – 24 years old were
enrolled in college
Six Graders - Indicators
Attended School
Less Than 80%
Unsatisfactory
Failed Math
English/Reading
Behavior Grade
10 – 20 %
Chance of
Graduating
Middle School Students on the Graduation Path
• Attendance
– Measure attendance in informative and actionable
manners
– Take measures to increase the number of
students with very good attendance and decrease
the number who are chronically absent.
– Recognize and reward good attendance regularly
(Whale Done)
– Separate attendance from course performance
– Be and be perceived as safe and engaging places
Middle School Students on the Graduation Path
• Belief, Behavior and Effort
– High engagement electives that provide
avenues for short-term success and positively
recognized asymmetrical skill levels
– Activities that honor and use middle grades
students’ desire for adventure and camaraderie
– Recognition at both the individual and group
level for positive behavior
– Teaching organizational and self-management
skills
Middle School Students on the Graduation Path
• Course Performance
– Encouraging quality coursework may require
new forms of assessment
– Accept and acknowledge the implications of
course grades being more predictive of
eventual success than test scores
– Create developmentally appropriate high
school/college readiness indicators that are
meaningful and engaging to middle grades
students and understood by parents
– Get extra help right.
Early Warning and Intervention Systems
• Focus on effective intervention, not just
identification
• Recognize and build on student strengths
• Provide time, training, and support and
intervention systems
• Match resources to student needs but practice
intervention discipline
• Evaluate the effectiveness of interventions
• Teachers and administrators can get started with
just data currently available in their schools
Challenges
• Getting the ratio of skilled adults to
students in need right
• Getting teacher buy-in and support for the
mission of keeping middle grades students
on the graduation path
• Strengthening the family-student-teacher
support triangle
Back on Track Through College
Back on Track Through College
Phase One: Enriched Preparation
• College-Going and Career-Ready Culture
• College- and Career-Ready Curriculum & Instruction
• Intentional Use of Time to Customize Instruction &
Accelerate Learning
• Personalized Guidance and Support
Phase Two: Postsecondary Bridging
• Supported Dual Enrollment
• A Focus on College Knowledge and Success
Strategies
• Personalized Guidance and Connection to Best
Bets
Phase Three: First-year Supports
• Support for Students to Earn Credits Predictive of
Completion
• Just-in-Time Support to Ensure Persistence
• Building Attachment to Postsecondary Education
JFF’S EDUCATION AGENDA
ENSURING UNDERPREPARED YOUTH & ADULTS EARN POSTSECONDARY CREDENTIALS WITH
LABOR MARKET VALUE
THE EDUCATION TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PIPELINE
Enter High
School
Achieve College
Readiness
Enter Postsecondary
Pass or By-Pass
Developmental Ed /
Remediation
Attain Credentials or
Degree with Value in the
Labor Market
LEAKS IN THE PIPELINE: EDUCATION LOSS POINTS
30% of low income
young people drop
out of high school
JFF SOLUTIONS
77% of low income
high school grads are
not college ready
Only 21% of low
income young
people and 14%
of low skilled
adults attain a
38% of low income
Only 3% of ABE
57% of traditional postsecondary
86% of adults
high school grads do needing remediation students obtain a post aged students drop credential or
degree
not enter college
secondary credential
out of PS
drop out
Acceleration Through 9-14
Alignment & Integration
COLLEGE&CAREER READY:
• Incent early college/back-on-track designs
• Expand early assessment/HS reach back
• Increase low-income student momentum
to college/career readiness
• Support all students to meet Common
Core standards, aligned with college first
year/gatekeeper courses
Acceleration Through Postsecondary &
Labor Market Alignment
POST-SECONDARY SUCCESS :
• Create career pathways to accelerate learning
• Integrate basic skills curriculum into creditbearing programs of study
• Develop articulated programs of study that offer
stackable credentials through AS/BA
• Build system capacity to support innovative
learning strategies
CAREER ADVANCEMENT:
• Develop industry-based career pathways and
workforce partnerships that align supply with
employer demand in regions and states
• Use of career counseling and labor market
outcome data for planning, choice,
accountability
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What Does it Mean to Prepare All
Students to be Career and College
Ready?
ALL REALLY DOES MEAN ALL!
All Really Does Mean All!
Postsecondary
and Career
Pathways
Community,
Business and
Postsecondary
Partnerships
System for
NonTraditional
Students
Professional
Development
Curricular
Alignment
Student
Success
Academic and
Social
Interventions
All Really Does Mean All!
• Developing a system of postsecondary and career
pathways that lead to:
– Associate’s or Higher Degrees
– Significant College Credits
– Career Certifications
• Developing Community, Business and Postsecondary
Partnerships
– Business partnerships related to pathways
– Develop system of internships and mentoring
• Curricular Alignment
– Common Core / College Readiness Standards
– Middle and high school focus
All Really Does Mean All!
• Develop Academic and Social Interventions
– Middle school indicators
– Restructure high school schedule
• For example – doubling up on math and English in 9th grades
– Afterschool and in-class academic supports
• Intensive and Robust Professional Development
– Leadership development system
• Developing leadership teams
– Teacher development system
• Content
• Instructional strategies
• Externships (business, community, postsecondary)
– Paraprofessional development system
All Really Does Mean All!
• Develop a System for Non-Traditional an Out of School Youth
– Synchronous and asynchronous E-Learning
– Develop work-based experiences
– Postsecondary and career pathways
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