At Last, Early College Makes the Grade in Massachusetts

For the past two decades, JFF has supported andencouraged the development of early college high schools across the UnitedStates but has had limited opportunity to help grow ECHS in our home state ofMassachusetts.  

Nevertheless, several sturdy early college highschools (ECHS) slowly grew in Massachusetts over the last 20 years. Theseprograms provide students with up to two years of college credit in acareer-focused pathway at no or minimal cost. ECHS aims to support young peoplewho are at risk of not attaining a postsecondary credential.

The initiatives in Massachusetts were all ECHSprograms within large high schools. They grew out of a few JFFpartnerships funded through Race to the Top, then through President Obama’sYouth Career Connect program, and a JFF partnership with SAP, an enterprisesoftware company. The state, however, remained on the sidelines.

Two years ago, that changed. The state Departments ofHigher Education and Elementary and Secondary Education established an earlycollege designation and a funding stream to aid in startup costs. Now,with generous financial support from the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, JFF is workingwith five communities that are engaged in ECHS. The communities represent sevencommunity and state colleges that are partnered with 12 high schools. Enthusiasmfor early college is growing. 

At a forum at the Massachusetts State House earlier this month,local leaders advocated for ECHS and young people testified about the differenceearly college made in their lives. Watch their testimony here.

At that same event, MassINC unveiled new research from gold-standard evaluations showing that, almost 20years since ECHS first began to scale, the return on investment remains strong.Each dollar invested in ECHS returned $15 in benefit to students—as they increased their lifetimeearnings—and to the public—through higher tax returns and decreased governmentspending. The reportalso found that ECHS can double postsecondary-degree completion amonglow-income high school students, an urgent agenda for a state that has morejobs that require a postsecondary credential than applicants ready to fill them. 

 The promise of early college high school in Massachusettsis strong. ECHS requires a strong partnership between the Boards of Elementaryand Secondary Education and Higher Education; in Massachusetts that partnershipis flourishing. The Board of Higher Education is also in the process ofestablishing equity as the framework for a refreshed strategy for the future,and early college is a key strategic component. JFF is excited to bring ourexpertise and that of our ECHS partners across the country to our home state.

Thank you to the Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation for generous support of JFF in investing in early college high school. 

All photos courtesy of MassINC.