East Williamson County Higher Education Center Receives $600,000 Grant to Create an Early College High School
The East Williamson County Higher Education Center/Temple College at Taylor received a $600,000 grant from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to create an "early college high school" in East Williamson County to help students who are under-represented on college campuses make a smooth transition to higher education.

Early college high schools are located on college campuses and blend high school curriculum with college coursework. They allow students to complete a high school diploma and a two-year college degree within four or five years. The TCAT Early College High School will open the summer of 2007 beginning with a summer academy.

Funding from the TEA will enable TCAT Early College High School to support and monitor the progress of the early college high school as it shapes programs to meet the needs of area students. The project is funded by an alliance of organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

The Early College High School will serve students who have not had access to academic preparation needed to meet college readiness standards, those for whom college is cost-prohibitive, minority students, those whose primary language is not English and students who are the first generation in their families to attend college. Students enter the early college high school in ninth grade and start college work based on their performance.

Richard Kolek, Principal of the TCAT Early College High School said "With the early college high school grant, TEA is providing an incomparable opportunity for students in East Williamson County who might never have pursued a college degree."

"The students we want to attract are those who would not otherwise have the opportunity to go to college," said Mr. Kolek. "Once they are convinced to try this, the dropout rate from early college high schools is very low because it builds its own excitement for learning in that environment."

Each early college high school enrolls a maximum of about 400 students, keeping a low teacher-student ratio and exposing students to challenging coursework.

"This is for students looking for an environment that will be different from the normal high school environment," Kolek said. "It will be a culture within itself."

"The first year is taught mainly by high school teachers, and the last year is taught almost exclusively by college teachers," Kolek said. "It's a gradual transition."

"I think we have to provide a system for students to really believe they can go to college, and a system for parents to understand the value of graduating from high school and going on to postsecondary education," Mr. Kolek said. "My goal will be that we recruit the students who want to be there and we keep them through the four years or five years that it takes to complete a high school diploma and receive an associate's degree."

The Early College High School Initiative, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, reports that 71 early college high schools were open around the nation in September 2005, with 11,879 students enrolled. The Gates Foundation anticipates establishing 166 early college high schools by 2011, and serving about 66,400 students by 2012.