Provide a brief description of the value of building programs that follow the Design Principles.
Equitable Access
Designated early college programs aim to prioritize students underrepresented in higher education enrollment and completion. To facilitate this, programs are structured to eliminate barriers to student participation:
- Tuition free for all student participants. If at all possible, other expenses that might serve as a barrier to equitable access should be covered.
- Admission determined by a performance-blind, open-access lottery
- Enrollment without regard to past academic performance
- Effective plan for outreach and recruitment for students traditionally underrepresented in higher education
- Admissions and placement policy prioritizes first-generation and other underrepresented students
- Populations served should fall within the targeted proportions based on the data provided by the New Mexico Public Education Department. Data provided includes the current number and percent of students in the high school or district that fall into the targeted demographic populations.
Academic Pathways
Designated programs should be structured around clear and detailed student academic pathways from secondary and post-secondary education with regard to coursework, sequencing, and experiences beyond the classroom.
Students should earn college credits towards a postsecondary credential aligned to career opportunities in high demand fields, allowing them to make an informed decision about which career pathway to pursue.
Students should also be exposed to the academic rigor of postsecondary education. This would require validating that courses on the high school campus are as rigorous as those offered on the college campus.
A Next Step Plan provides a four-year pathway that students will travel towards college credential or degree while simultaneously completing high school graduation requirements. The plan demonstrates curriculum alignment with postsecondary partners for ALL pathways offered. If the ECHS offers a general studies or liberal arts pathway, the school must offer at least one additionally defined program of study that is based on relevant regional and state workforce data, leading towards a workforce credential.
Student Supports
Designated programs should incorporate sufficient wraparound services to promote academic success and completion, taking into consideration the needs of diverse populations of students.
ECHS programs are encouraged to develop whole student supports. For academic support, the curriculum should include a system of student support including, but not limited to:
- Teacher contact
- Tutoring
- Study groups
- Review sessions
- Homework guidance
- Summer sessions
- Learning labs
- Skill development classes
- Staged course sequencing
- Peer-based student support groups
For career and academic counseling, student supports should include:
- College planning sessions
- College application and funding workshops
- Connections to business mentors including workplace experiences
- Academic development tracking and review
- Increased exposure to post-secondary institutions and processes
In all of these support systems, parent/guardian participation should be encouraged, due to its strong impact on student success.
Connections to Career
Early College High School programs should expose students to a variety of career opportunities, especially the breadth of careers relevant to their selected pathway. Examples include providing opportunities for targeted workforce and career skills development, career counseling, and elements of experiential and work-based learning.
ECHS programs should be designed so that students develop an awareness of their educational growth and development, while understanding the manner in which their educational path is connected to career opportunities. This connection should be framed broadly, to allow students to explore career possibilities and to more generally develop foundational employability skills necessary to thrive in any work environment.
Understanding the economic environment of the geographic area which the ECHS serves provides educators valuable information about what careers are in high demand. This allows educators to build career and college pathways and partnerships that reflect the realities of the workplace. Awareness of job demands can help early college programs link with high-demand area businesses, which are open to providing operational support for the program.
To learn more about careers and opportunities at the local level, visit the New Mexico Resource Center for CTE.
High Quality and Deep Partnerships
Exceptional Leadership Skills
As an exemplary educational reform high school model, ECHS programs require transformative leadership to support a diverse and traditionally underrepresented student population. The leadership team must rethink the high school learning experience and fully support a new learning culture in their schools, in students’ homes, in communities, and in higher education.
Exceptional school leaders address five key responsibilities in their schools:
- Shaping a vision of success for all
- Creating a welcoming and safe learning environment
- Cultivating leadership in others
- Supporting highly effective teachers
- Managing people, data, and processes
ECHS leaders must also serve as ambassadors for their schools and partnerships with businesses across the community. One of the greatest impacts on an ECHS is the solid link between effective leadership and the ECHS reform models they shepherd.
Additionally, a comprehensive plan for professional development and a community of best practice must be in place to encourage the ongoing development of faculty and staff, fully support a diverse student body, foster partnerships between educational institutions and the workplace and to sustain peer-supported professional learning communities.
This commitment by ECHS leaders creates the human and professional resources needed to support the success and sustainability of ECHS programs.