Editorial Column for Daily Herald
For Publication: 9/26/07

HCC Early College High School Will Help
Young People Prepare for College, Work
Dr. Ervin V. Griffin, Sr.
President, Halifax Community College
 

Halifax Community College, the Roanoke Valley Business Education Partnership, Halifax County Schools, Northampton County Schools, Roanoke Rapids Graded School District, and Weldon City Schools have been awarded a $40,000 grant to develop plans for the creation of an Early College High School Program. This news was previously reported in the Daily Herald, but I wanted to reiterate how very fortunate we are to have the opportunity to create a new school to benefit area students.

Superintendents from the school systems came together on our campus recently and signed an agreement in support of the project. I believe this actually marked the first time that all four school districts have come together for such an endeavor. Grant funding will come from the NC New Schools Project and the NC Department of Public Instruction. It is part of Governor Mike Easley's Learn and Earn Early College High School Initiative launched in September 2004.

Plans are to open the Early College High School program in fall 2008 on HCC's campus. We will establish a rigorous four- to five-year program that will ensure that all of the students complete an associate's degree or are prepared to successfully complete a bachelor's degree with graduation from high school.

Since fewer than half of students who go to college complete a two or four-year degree within six years and four out of every 10 students do not graduate, we feel that the Early College High School Program is needed. Efforts are designed to raise the high school graduation rate and to create new schools that help all students graduate as strong citizens ready for college and work. Research shows that students entering the workforce will need the same level of academic rigor as students planning to go to college.

Early College High Schools ensure that all students remain in school and are college ready and that schools are accountable for student achievement. They serve as an effective bridge between the high school and institutions of higher learning to improve graduation rates and to increase the number of underserved youth who will graduate with a high school diploma and two years of transferable credit or an associate's degree.

Statistics show that high schools have not kept pace with our rapidly changing economy and today's knowledge economy values the ability to create, process information, and perform high level skills. Early College High Schools provide teachers and principals the flexibility to allocate resources to help all students achieve at high levels. Of course, a main focus will be to raise high school graduation rates and help all students graduate as strong citizens ready for college and work.

The mission of high schools should be to prepare all students for college-level work. If students choose to attend college, all should be able to enter without needing remedial coursework.

In order to redesign high schools, we need more rigorous schools that offer families real choices, a high performing school district committed to preparing all students for college level work, and sensible education policies that support our high-performing schools and districts and reinforce the goal of helping all students succeed.

We have a lot of work to do between now and the first of the year. Students will be selected through an open application process from the four school districts. A committee of representatives will manage the selection process.

From the President's Perspective, the college preparatory 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.

I think it's important to note that Learn and Earn Early College High Schools are supported by the NC New Schools Project and are members of a statewide effort under the guidelines and support of the NC Department of Public Instruction and other NC New Schools Project partners. All high school reform operates under the umbrella of the NC 21st Century High School Initiative.

For more information on the New Schools Project, visit www.newschoolsproject.org. To learn more about HCC, visit www.halifaxcc.edu. Also, feel free to send me an email message at president@halifaxcc.edu with your thoughts or ideas about HCC or this new project.