ECHS Principal Ready to Serve Students
Money matters to most people, and people with more education make more of it. This is one factor Early College Principal Richard Kolek hopes will entice incoming high school freshmen to pursue a college education.

“The Early College High School is a new concept that will target the underrepresented, under served, first generation college students,” he said. “There's only 13 other schools like this in Texas.”

Kolek, the current principal at Rockdale Junior High, said he applied for the job as ECHS principal because he could relate to the students it will serve.

“I think the greatest factor was the fact we will be taking an innovative approach to education,” he said. “I myself fit into the profile of students we are after here. I feel I can relate to the kids and get them involved in something that could change their life forever.”

The program, which will be tuition-free for students, is being developed with a three-year grant $600,000 grant from the Texas Education Agency.

“The Taylor Independent School District and Hutto Independent School District as well as Temple College at Taylor are equal partners in this endeavor and they also support the program. The grant alone does not.”

According to Kolek, students who are accepted into the program can earn up to 60 hours of college credit through the program while in high school.

Kolek said there are several challenges serving as an administrator in the newly formed school.

“The biggest challenge has been coming into a school where nothing has already been set up,” he said. “We are going to build this from the ground up to meet the needs of the community. There's other early college high school's out there but no two are the same. It is exciting to be a part of something so new.

“It's a challenge and I love to do challenging things.”

Kolek said he would like to see students who are accepted to maximize the program to it's fullest potential.

“To implement my goals we have to get the first class of kids enrolled and then build a culture of a small learning environment where we will be able to meet the needs of those students easily,” he said. “It's all about creating a family-like atmosphere. The key is to get motivated students and then guide them through their college career.”

Students enrolled in the program in fall, will take their elective courses in the morning at their respective high schools and then be transported over to TCAT in the afternoon for their core classes, Kolek said.

“We are going to try and get them into college classes their second semester,” he said. “We don't just want to throw them into it. Their first college classes won't be Algebra or History but that will be determined by TCAT. When the students pass the AccuPlacer exam, they will be enrolled in duel credit college courses.”

Students who have heard about the program are generally excited about the opportunity, Kolek said.

“The general feel is that they are very interested in the concept and want to be a part of the cutting edge of where education is going,” he said. “The ones I have talked to, you could see the interest there.”

Kolek said with the new college comes new opportunities in education.

“... It makes education more attractive and affordable,” he said. “Students are able to compress the years it takes to get a bachelors or masters degree and there will be teachers, professors, myself and counselors to help them through it. It's all about nurturing and teaching kids leadership skills, study habits and, if the students take full advantage of it, it makes the transition to college a lot more easier.”

Currently the application process is underway in which a committee will select and interview students to fill the 100 spots for the fall class.

“We will have an interview process with the applicants and their parents before we select them,” he said. “We are going to make it as equal an opportunity for students in Hutto as we do in Taylor. However, if there are only 30 qualified applicants from Taylor, and 150 qualified students in Hutto, we will take 70 from Hutto.

“It's always competitive when you have 100 spots available and you have 550 kids who apply. It's not a competition. It's the students applying and meeting the criteria. Everyone should apply regardless if they think they meet the criteria or not.”

Students enrolled in the program will have high expectations placed on them, he said.

“All students will go through a two-week summer academy in late July,” he said. “Students have to have the academic commitment to the program in order to stay in. Maturity plays a big role; the student has to want this, it can't be the parents.”

In the future, Kolek said he hopes to expand the program to accommodate students from Thrall and Granger school districts.

“Our goal is to expand on it and make it available to more students,” he said.

Applications for the program can be obtained through the counselor's office at Taylor or Hutto High School or at any of the parent meetings. Applications are due May 4.

The next meeting on the ECHS will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at TCAT.

For more information, contact Kolek at (512) 365-2787.