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"**Early** **College"**High School Jump-Starts Higher Learning. [|http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy045.nclive.org/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=125&sid=787bcfb1-da10-437b-82da-828574a2ddd8%40sessionmgr115&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=12624847] 1. EARLY college high schools allow students to earn both a high school diploma and two years of college credit simultaneously. 2. The concept makes college more affordable, provides more support to students in their first two years of college, and gives students a jump start on their careers by eliminating time-wasting activities in the last two years of high school. 3. It also encourages more low-income, minority students to enter higher education. 4. Some of these programs are geared to high-achieving students ready-for college work while still in high school, others to at-risk students or even dropouts. 5. New York City's Bard High School Early College was founded two and a half years ago by the board of education and Bard College with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 6. Admission is based on a transcript review, a writing and math assessment, and an interview. 7. It graduated its first class of 93 students last June. 8. "These were slightly above-average students who wanted a faster and more rigorous education," says Principal Ray Peterson. 9. They got associate's degrees and high school diplomas, and over 90% moved on to four-year colleges throughout the United States, mostly as upperclassmen. 10. About 27 of the 120 students who entered the Bard school in September 2001 did not complete the program. 11. Peterson says the early college program fulfills the general education requirements of most colleges and universities while teaching students critical thinking and writing skills. 12. It also saves them up to two years of college tuition. 13. Those graduating from Bard High School Early College with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher are eligible for a preferred transfer process to Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, or to Simon's Rock College of Bard in Great Barrington; Massachusetts. 14. According to Hoffman, 24 early college high schools have opened to date, located on or pear college campuses, sharing facilities and instructors with the colleges, and providing examples of how to align high school standards with college-level skills and expectations. 15. "Their goals are to eliminate time wasted in high school and to provide students with appropriate adult guidance and support through their first two years of college," Hoffman says. 16. "We can no longer accept that less than 20% of low-income students will go to college. 17. "Early college high schools engage and motivate students by giving them the personalized and rigorous courses they need to make a smooth transition to college or the work place." 18. In December, City University of New York (CUNY) received a $6.75 million grant from the Gates Foundation to collaborate with the New York City school system to create 10 more early college high schools, joining the three existing early college high schools affiliated with CUNY campuses. 19. At one, the Middle College/Early College at LaGuardia Community College, students are outperforming their counterparts in college-course pass rates. 20. The others include the Science, Technology, and Research (STAR) High School, which opened in fall 2003 in collaboration with Brooklyn College, and the Manhattan/Hunter Science High School sponsored by Hunter College. 21. These two schools opened with 60 to 100 ninth-graders, and neither required an admissions test. 22. In Florida's Okaloosa County school district, students in grades 10 to 12 can earn a standard' high school diploma and a two-year college degree or transferable college credits at the Collegiate High School, a charter school housed at Okaloosa-Walton Community College. 23. Students pay no tuition for the college courses. 24. They receive use of a laptop computer, all college and high school textbooks, transportation, and other services at no cost. 25. Graduates have received scholarships for such schools as Florida State University, Notre Dame, and California Poly-Tech. 26. It provides a small-school atmosphere with personal attention, free tutoring, and instruction by top college faculty who hold advanced degrees in their fields. 27. Collegiate High, says Cotton, is for students who are serious about their studies; want a more academically challenging curriculum; are mature enough to thrive in a college environment; want a college degree or credits at no cost; want to focus on a specific field (e.g., computer science or fine arts), or want to enter a career right after graduation. 28. Students have access to all of the community college's facilities, programs, and organizations, such as the arts center, ROTC, Phi Theta Kappa college honor society, academic teams, and intramural sports. Collegiate High also offers traditional high school activities, such as clubs, a yearbook, a prom, and student trips. 29. Collegiate High students can earn an individualized Associate of Arts degree to meet the prerequisites of over 200 bachelor's degree programs. 30.