NEW INVESTMENTS EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN NATIONAL
NETWORK OF EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOLS
Nearly $30 Million to Boost High School Graduation Rates and Give
Students the Chance to Earn College Credits
Seattle, WA, December 7, 2004
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today
announced $29.6 million in grants to eight organizations to expand
the early college high school network to more than 25 states.
Early college high schools provide traditionally underserved students
with a rigorous, college-level curriculum and the opportunity
to earn two years of college credit or an Associate’s degree.
Since 2001, the early college high school network has received
more than $124 million in support from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, WK Kellogg
Foundation, Woodruff Foundation and Ford Foundation.
More than $22 million will support the creation
of 42 new schools throughout the country through investments in
Antioch University Seattle, the Middle College National Consortium,
Portland Community College’s Gateway to College, Rochester
Area Community Foundation, Georgia Department of Education and
the University System of Georgia, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and
the National Council of La Raza. A $7 million investment in Jobs
for the Future (JFF), which leads the implementation of the network,
will expand the technical assistance available for the network
and help establish a system to monitor the progress of young people
enrolled in these schools.
Early college high schools are designed to increase
high school graduation rates, as well as the number of underserved
youth who achieve a post-secondary education. According to a 2003
study by the Manhattan Institute, one-third of all ninth graders
will fail to graduate from high school and two-thirds of those
who do graduate will leave unprepared for college success. Just
half of African-American and Latino youth earn their diploma in
four years and fewer than 20 percent of those who graduate are
ready for college. That number is even lower for Native American
youth, who have the lowest college completion rates in the country;
only three in five Native students graduate from high school and
fewer than 3 percent of these graduates complete a four-year degree
program.
“If we fail to prepare all of our young
people for the 21st century economy, the economic and civic health
of our nation will continue to be at risk,” said Tom Vander
Ark, executive director of education, Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. “By investing in new early college high schools,
we hope to prepare more of the students for college, work and
citizenship—especially underserved youth.”
A recent report by the American Diploma Project
shows there is an increasing convergence between the skills needed
to earn a family wage and those required to attend college, including
algebra, statistics, strong oral and written communication skills,
and research skills. Early college high schools are designed to
equip students with these skills needed to successfully complete
college-level work and meet the needs of today’s work world.
“This network is about school change,”
said JFF CEO Marlene Seltzer. “It’s time to re-engineer
our secondary schools. Millions of our teenage youth are being
left behind every day, unprepared to study further or secure good
jobs in our sink or swim economy. The good news is that we have
school change strategies, including early college, that show real
promise. Early college high schools respond to the needs of youth
who would otherwise be left behind, engaging and motivating them
with a strong college-preparatory curriculum that allows them
to earn credits in college-level courses and prepares them for
higher education.”
Early college high schools share the traits
of all good schools: personalized learning, academic rigor for
all students, a common focus and close interpersonal relationships.
Serving as an effective bridge between high school and college,
these schools give students the personal attention and extra help
they need to succeed in college-level courses.
In order to track the progress and impact of
early college high schools locally and nation-wide, JFF will implement
a new Student Information System (SIS). Through this system, JFF
will share data and best practices to track progress, and support
the continuous improvement of early college high schools, with
network grantees and other educational institutions through 2008.
The SIS will generate public reports on the impact of early college
on student achievement. In addition, JFF will provide on-going
support to early college high school network through workshops
and on-line tools, including a grantee extranet and a Web site
where education leaders and policymakers can find the latest research,
analysis and resources on early college high school designs.
As of this fall, nearly 50 early college high
schools have opened, educating more than 8,000 students in 19
states. By fall 2008, more than 170 early college high schools
will exist throughout the country, ultimately serving more than
65,000 students.
These new investments in early college high
schools build on the foundation’s existing efforts to improve
the graduation and college-going rates, particularly among low-income
and minority youth, by strengthening America’s high schools.
This fall, nearly 250 new small high schools opened across the
country. To date, the foundation has invested $806 million to
support the creation of more than 2,000 high-quality schools in
41 states and the District of Columbia.
For more information on the early college high
school network, see www.earlycolleges.org.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (www.gatesfoundation.org)
works to promote greater equity in four areas: global health,
education, public libraries, and support for at-risk families
in Washington state and Oregon. The Seattle-based foundation joins
local, national, and international partners to ensure that advances
in these areas reach those who need them most. The foundation
is led by Bill Gates's father, William H. Gates, Sr., and Patty
Stonesifer.
Jobs for the Future ($7 million)
actively supports the belief that all young people should have
a quality high school and postsecondary education, and that all
adults should have the skills needed to hold jobs that pay enough
to support a family. As a non-profit research, consulting and
advocacy organization, JFF works to strengthen our society by
creating educational and economic opportunity for those who need
it most. (www.jff.org)
Media contact: Carmon Cunningham, ccunningham@jff.org,
617.728.4446, ext.133
Background and media contacts for ECHS grantees opening
new high schools:
Antioch University Seattle ($6.1
million), which already coordinates
eight (8) early college high schools in Washington State, will
create 10 new early colleges serving 3,100 students in California,
Texas, New York, Alaska, North Carolina, Oregon, and possibly
New Mexico beginning in fall 2006; three (3) programs will begin
the first year, followed by four (4) new schools in 2007 and
three (3) more in 2008. These programs will serve federally
recognized Native American tribes and urban districts with significant
numbers of underserved Native youth. This investment builds
on a $3.3 million grant awarded in 2002. (www.antiochsea.edu) Media Contact: Bjorn Danielson (206)
268-4135, bdanielson@antiochsea.edu or Jennifer Dovey (206) 268-4106, jdovey@antiochsea.edu
KnowledgeWorks Foundation ($1.2
million) will expand the Ohio-focused
ECHS network by adding two (2) additional schools to the eight
(8) schools already in planning or implementation phases. The
two (2) schools will open by fall 2006 along with a rural site
currently being planned and will continue serving low socioeconomic
and underrepresented youth in postsecondary education. The ECHS
programs are one part of a larger effort to improve statewide
high school and postsecondary graduation rates along with the
Ohio High School Transformation Initiative (OHSTI). (www.kwfdn.org) Media Contact: Chris Hedges
513-929-1136, hedgesc@kwfdn.org
Middle College National Consortium
($6 million), which already oversees
20 early college high schools, will create 10 new schools in
California, Chicago, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Washington State
by 2008 beginning in fall 2006. These new high schools, which
will operate on a college campus, will serve approximately 5,000
low-income and underserved youth. The foundation and its partners
previously invested in this model in 2002 with a $7.1 million
grant. (www.lagcc.cuny.edu/mcnc/) Media Contact: Cece Cunningham,
718-609-2025, CecCunnin@aol.com
National Council of La Raza ($891,340),
the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization,
will build on their existing network of 12 ECHS programs –
supported in 2002 with a $6.6 million grant by Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation – by developing and disseminating a school
design model that demonstrates the ability of every Latino student
to master a college-preparatory curriculum and complete two
years of a rigorous college education by the time they graduate
high school. By example, NCLR's Early College High School Demonstration
Project will lead the nation in ensuring that every Latino,
ELL, and immigrant student has the opportunity to gain a post-secondary
degree. To date six schools of exemplary practice are operating
and six more are emerging in nine states and the District of
Columbia. (www.nclr.org) Media Contact: Jorge Naranjo,
(202) 785-1670, jnaranjo@nclr.org or Alexandra Jost, (202) 776-1566, ajost@nclr.org
Portland Community College’s
Gateway to College ($5.4 million) will create nine (9) new early college high schools by fall
2008 as a recovery initiative for out-of-school youth. These
schools will emphasize clear pathways to college for students
who previously dropped out of high school. This investment supplements
a previous $4.8 million grant in support of this model. (www.pcc.edu) Media Contact: For questions
about Gateway to College and the replication: Linda Huddle,
Director of Alternative Programs, 503-788-6119, lhuddle@pcc.edu.
For questions about the college and general programs: Susan
Hereford, Manager of Media Relations, 503-977-4421.
Rochester Area Community Foundation
and the Rochester City School District ($1 million)will
create up to five (5) early college high schools as part of
a $5 million grant from the foundation to support comprehensive
redesign of Rochester’s secondary schools which includes
two small school multiplex sites and 7-9 Foundation Academies
and 10-12 Commencement Academies within redesigned 7-12 schools.
(www.rcsdk12.org)
Media Contact: Barbara Jarzyniecki, Chief Communications Officer,
585-262-8729, Barbara.jarzyniecki@rcsdk12.org
University System of Georgia and
the Georgia Department of Education ($2 million)will create six (6) new ECHS programs in Atlanta and other Georgia
communities beginning in the fall of 2005 with two (2) schools
and with four (4) more to follow in fall 2006. As a partnership
between the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Department
of Education, Early Colleges will "reclaim" higher
education for African American, Hispanic, and other ethnic minorities
by closing the achievement gap and providing students ages 14-20
with a "real" opportunity for college attainment.
Georgia's first graduating class will complete the ECHS program
and receive an Associate's degree or its equivalent in 2010.
(www.georgiaearlycolleges.org)
Media Contact: Arlethia Perry-Johnson, 404-656-2318, Arlethia.PerryJohnson@usg.edu
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