A new public school will open in the Golden Triangle next fall, but it is not the school that has been in the news during recent months.
Less than a week after Inspire Charter School’s bid to open an elementary school in Columbus was rejected by the charter school authorizer board, organizers of a new high school started making their rounds to area school boards to introduce Early College High School.
ECHS will be located on the Mayhew campus of East Mississippi Community College, where its inaugural ninth-grade class of no more that 50 students will begin classes in the fall of 2015 and participate in a program that, while new to Mississippi, has operated with great success in other states, most notably North Carolina, according to Myra Pannell, a senior research assistant at MSU’s Research and Curriculum Unit.
The school will be operated by the Mississippi Department of Education as a collaborative effort among EMCC, Mississippi State University and the university’s Research and Curriculum Unit. The school has also been included in North Carolina New School’s $20 million federal grant, which will assist the school start up with staff development, resource and other materials.
It is open to all students in Clay, Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties entering ninth grade. The school will add a grade each year over the next four years. The students who enroll as ninth-graders in 2015 will graduate in four years not only with a high school diploma but with an associate degree from EMCC.
“We are looking for students that, for whatever reason, might not be on track to continue their education beyond high school,” Pannell said. “These are students that might not take Advanced Placement courses in high school, but could excel with extra support.”
School officials are especially interested in students from low income, minority and/or first generation college students.
“The first thing people might think of is a charter school,” Pannell said. “But that’s not an accurate comparison, really, because we will have an opportunity to provide things you wouldn’t find in a charter school.”
With broad-based funding that includes but is not limited to the per-pupil state funding that public and charter schools rely on, ECHS can offer transportation, meals and other financial support that help ensure the student has no barriers toward completing a dual-studies program.
“It is a commitment — there’s no doubt about that,” Pannell said. “It’s a commitment for the student, who will be taken out of the normal high school environment. It’s a commitment for the parents, too. But we think the benefits are obvious. It creates such a great advantage for the students.”
Pannell said North Carolina has been operating dual-track high school/community college schools for 10 years and the results have been impressive. Graduation rates are 90 percent from early college high schools, compared to the national graduation rate of 78 percent.
EMCC has already dedicated space for Mississippi’s first ECHS. In its first year, which will include only ninth-grade, the school staff will be composed of a principal, three teachers, a counselor and a liaison from EMCC. Additional staff will be brought in as grades are added each year.
Early College High School will serve as a fast track for students, whether they plan to immediately join the workforce by attaining technical degrees from EMCC or continue their education at the university level.
“We hope to draw eight-to-10 students from each of the area high schools with a cap that first year of 50 students,” Pannell said. “In the spring, we will start visiting the schools to share information about the application process.”
For more information on ECHS, contact Pannell at 662-325-3305.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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