What is Early College High School?
Early College High School (ECHS) was designed to dismantle barriers, empower students to transition from high school to college, and smoothly transition learners into career pathways. By focusing on five key principles, Early College programs foster inclusive environments that help students achieve their academic and professional goals.
It gives students a combined high school and college experience in a smaller, more personalized environment. The goal is to foster a college- and career-going culture by providing learners, especially those in underserved communities, with support and wrap around services.
It differs from dual enrollment, in which students take community college courses designed for post-secondary learners. Early College High Schools maintain partnerships with higher education institutions, creating a pathway for students to earn a high school diploma and at least 12 college credits.
The key difference is in the name: dual enrollment requires students to dually enroll in separate education programs, whereas Early College High School integrates the experiences.
How does Early College High School advance equity in education?
Earning a college degree can accelerate a learner’s income potential. But not all learners are equally likely to earn a degree, nor enroll in the first place.
A study conducted by the Pell Institute in 2022 revealed that 79 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds from families in the top quarter income bracket enrolled in postsecondary education, whereas only 44 percent of students from the lowest income quartile do so.
Early College High School seeks to close that gap. By targeting underserved communities, including low-income and first-generation students, ECHS increases college awareness, preparedness, and access.
The five guiding principles of Early College High School
To stay goal-focused, ECHS programs root themselves in core principles that guide their overarching mission and everyday work. Although different states have adopted slightly different principles, The Massachusetts Early College Initiative provides a nice summary with these five:
1. Equitable access
Early College programs prioritize open access to college-level coursework for all students, particularly those who might not see themselves as “college material” due to economic, racial, or social barriers.
Students from marginalized communities often have limited access to advanced courses. Early College programs offer an alternative by giving students early exposure to rigorous academic challenges. In doing so, ECHS fosters a more level playing field, giving every learner — regardless of background — a guided, tangible opportunity to earn college credits in high school and reduce the time and cost of obtaining a degree.
This also demystifies higher education for first-generation students, showing them that college is not only attainable; it’s well within reach.
Equity in education is about more than access; it’s about ensuring that students have the resources and support they need to thrive. ECHS leaders understand that stringent classroom expectations are often misaligned with modern student needs. So, instead of expecting students to adhere to pre-set ideals, educators and administrators design ECHS programs around the students in their classrooms.
This critical shift begins with equitable recruitment and enrollment. “Open enrollment” — in which any student will be accepted, regardless of their GPA, test score, or placement score history — is not enough. Rather than broadly recruiting all students within a community and hoping that underrepresented students hear about it and apply, ECHS programs are highly intentional in ensuring that applications reach such learners in the first place.
Access is ideally extended by not excluding students based on their prior disciplinary records and by considering, but not entirely relying upon, subjective factors like teacher recommendations.
2. Guided Academic Pathways
ECHS programs lead students down clear academic pathways, connecting daily coursework and co-curricular experiences to the twelve (or more) college credits they’ll earn by high school graduation. Those credits then further connect to a post-secondary academic pathway, such as computer technology, liberal arts, or health sciences programs at local community colleges.
Additionally, by making ECHS credits transferable and centered around general education requirements, new ECHS graduates can reduce their college course load or speed up their graduation time, thereby reducing enrollment costs.
Academic pathways are further illuminated by introducing ECHS students to experiences and academic rigors typical of post-secondary life. When students are exposed to college curricula, campuses, faculty, and support staff, they gain a more accurate understanding of higher education expectations and opportunities. They also graduate from ECHS with greater confidence.
3. Enhanced Student Support
By identifying potential roadblocks early — such as gaps in foundational skills or a lack of confidence — teachers and counselors can intervene before students fall behind. This personalized support helps close achievement gaps and gives every student a fair shot at success.
From a student’s perspective, this guiding principle might be what most differentiates ECHS from dual enrollment. Support services can make or break retention and completion.
Support services typically include most of the following:
- College application assistance, including financial aid counseling — help students learn how to complete applications accurately and on time
- Sessions with academic advisors and career counselors — connect students’ EHCS courses to academic pathways and career opportunities
- Peer mentorship and tutoring, including access to writing centers and math advisors — give learners strategies, tools, and tips for succeeding in their coursework while connecting them to potential role models
Crucially, ECHS programs make these services accessible and relevant. Rather than requiring students to schedule meetings or visit external locations, services are built around a student’s existing school day.
4. Connections to Careers
Early College programs emphasize long-term student success beyond high school and college. Rather than focusing solely on short-term academic gains, these programs help students build the resilience, skills, and mindsets they need to succeed in their chosen careers. This holistic approach considers the long-term economic mobility of students, ensuring that they are not only prepared for college but for lifelong success.
Beyond illuminating academic pathways, Early College High Schools link students to in-demand careers that align with their post-secondary degrees.
High schools and colleges collaborate to provide career exploration, awareness, and immersion activities that are relevant to students’ coursework and engaging at their grade level. These activities may include career fairs, internships, job shadowing, skills-building workshops, site visits, mentorship programs, guest speakers, and networking events.
Crucially, ECHS programs take great care to set students up for sustainable careers that support their financial needs and goals. Educators continually consult labor market information — data that ties together current employment and economic trends.
By considering factors like project job growth, occupational wages, unemployment rates, and geographical opportunities, career counselors ensure that they’ll guide students toward attainable careers. Better yet, tools like the Pathway2Careers Labor Market Navigator (LMN) include data about racial and gender disparities, helping educators promote equitable access and outcomes.
5. Effective Partnerships
Early College High Schools aren’t solo projects owned by secondary schools; each ECHS has at least one local post-secondary institution (typically a community college) as its partner — a partnership that goes much deeper than occasional consultation or financial support.
As the New Mexico Early College Resource Center puts it, “Tacit agreement to collaborate is not sufficient; deep commitment to partnership and continued full collaboration on both sides is imperative.”
Partners meet regularly, and their shared initiatives often include:
- Program advocacy: Partners engage with community leaders and groups to advocate for ECHS, thereby increasing promotion and reaching more students.
- Career exploration: Staff identify opportunities, including within the local community and on college campuses, for students to explore a wide variety of careers.
- Community workplace needs: College administrators and support staff collaborate with high school counselors and teachers to ensure that their connected academic pathways align with local industry trends.
Additionally, by working hand in hand, secondary and post-secondary institutions often adapt their academic programs to better address students’ needs. For example, colleges may adjust their course credit requirements and school counselors may advocate for alternate prerequisites.
Conclusion
One of the most powerful ways Early College fosters equity is by cultivating a college-going culture in schools where higher education might otherwise seem out of reach. The notion of enrolling in higher education can be especially intimidating to students whose families and communities have few college graduates.
The Early College model is a powerful tool for advancing educational equity. By focusing on the five core principles of equitable access, personalized support, intentional career pathways, a college-going culture, and long-term success, ECHS equips students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence they need to succeed in college and beyond. In doing so, they play a critical role in closing the opportunity gaps that exist in our education system, empowering all students to realize their full potential.
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