It's A High School; It's A College
Via The New York Times, a story about a Brooklyn school that is being described as a kind of hybrid between a high school and a community college.
City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, is a five-year secondary school set to open this fall. Graduates would receive both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.
Students will have a curriculum that both has the courses we associate with a career and technical education and advanced courses that students would encounter in college.
There are already many colleges and high schools that allow high school students to earn college credit before they graduate. Usually, this is done by having students attend classes on a nearby college campus or by bringing in (face-to-face or virtually) college professors.
What is the motivation to create these hybrid schools? It may make the transition to college courses easier. With the proper articulation, it can cut in half the time needed to earn an associate’s degree or supply credits to a 4-year degree. The schools don't always wait until the last two years to begin the process. They can begin college level work in their first year. In theory, the school's high standards, rigorous curriculum, academic support and the enticement of free
college courses encourages students.
This has been done before. In earlier decades, they were often created to make up for the gap in college attendance and college degree rates among low income and minority students. Some people refer to these schools as "early colleges."
Jobs for the Future (JFF), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups have supported initiatives to create these schools called early colleges. About a third of these schools receive Title 1 funding (for institutions with a high percentage of low-income students served).
Further Reading Minding the Gap: Why Integrating High School With College Makes Sense and How to Do It
calls for a system that integrates secondary and postsecondary education into a system in which a college degree is the goal for all students.
City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, is a five-year secondary school set to open this fall. Graduates would receive both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.
Students will have a curriculum that both has the courses we associate with a career and technical education and advanced courses that students would encounter in college.
There are already many colleges and high schools that allow high school students to earn college credit before they graduate. Usually, this is done by having students attend classes on a nearby college campus or by bringing in (face-to-face or virtually) college professors.
What is the motivation to create these hybrid schools? It may make the transition to college courses easier. With the proper articulation, it can cut in half the time needed to earn an associate’s degree or supply credits to a 4-year degree. The schools don't always wait until the last two years to begin the process. They can begin college level work in their first year. In theory, the school's high standards, rigorous curriculum, academic support and the enticement of free
college courses encourages students.
This has been done before. In earlier decades, they were often created to make up for the gap in college attendance and college degree rates among low income and minority students. Some people refer to these schools as "early colleges."
Jobs for the Future (JFF), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other groups have supported initiatives to create these schools called early colleges. About a third of these schools receive Title 1 funding (for institutions with a high percentage of low-income students served).
Further Reading Minding the Gap: Why Integrating High School With College Makes Sense and How to Do It
calls for a system that integrates secondary and postsecondary education into a system in which a college degree is the goal for all students.
Comments
No comments