Halifax Community College and the Roanoke Valley Business Education Partnership in collaboration with Halifax County Schools, Northampton County Schools, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District, and Weldon City Schools recently requested a $40,000 grant to develop plans for an Early College Program, which would open in 2008-2009 on the college campus. If funding is granted, HCC's Early College will be established as a rigorous four- to five-year Early College High School program that will ensure that all of its students complete an associate' s degree or are prepared to successfully complete a bachelor's degree with graduation from high school.

There is much to do in the planning process. There are many partners and collaborators who will come together to make this new and exciting project work. The boards of education from all of the districts and the HCC Board of Trustees have formally endorsed participation in the planning process that the grant will precipitate.

Various teams will be involved in the planning process to coordinate overall communication; research and propose programs of study, academic support programs, internships, and other complementary programs; research and propose forums, media events, parent forums, and other means to communicate the development of the Early College and the opportunities it will provide; and, serve as primary liaison with the community at-large. Internships and community service programs could also be developed.

The student body will reflect the social and academic backgrounds of the participating school districts. This will result in an increased number of students in the area who will complete college level work. The instructional program will be grounded in literacy immersion, project based learning, and real-world performance assessments. Students will be engaged in using the history, economy, and natural scientific arena of the community as a learning laboratory. The Early College will engage up to 400 students in a college preparatory curriculum that will prepare them to prosper in the 21st century. A maximum of 100 student slots will be available for each class.

With all of these wonderful plans, you might be asking about who would be eligible to attend such a school. Students will be selected through an open application process from the four school districts. A committee of representatives will manage the selection process. There will be an effort to ensure that student distribution among the districts is proportional to the student populations of each district and to their collective academic and social characteristics. There will be a focus on recruiting these kinds of students:

• Students from families that do not have college degreed adults in the household

• Students with some evidence of academic potential, but evidence of disengagement from traditional school through poor attendance, disciplinary referrals, or consistent lack of attention in classes

• Students with an interest in attending high school on the HCC campus rather than their home campus

• Students willing to sacrifice participation in traditional extracurricular and co-curricular activities in exchange for participation in academic projects, job internships, and other pursuits beyond the regular classroom that will support their completion of an associate degree in five years

There will also be a concerted effort to recruit teachers who can work effectively with a major reform initiative, and who have a record of using instructional methods that actively engage students, a strong commitment to preparing students for college, and a documented record of comprehensive professional learning experiences and a commitment to grow. Jobs, including a principal position, will be advertised locally, statewide and nationally.

The leadership of HCC has already demonstrated an investment in the success of HCC's Early College. I have attended all of the planning meetings and have stated a belief in early college programs and the college's strong commitment to the development and sustenance of this project. Also, other key senior-level administrators here have helped in developing the planning grant proposal and led the preliminary research into blending the instructional programs of the college and the participating high schools.