Last Day of School

[Photo: World history teacher Walter Price at Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School]

Wednesday, sadly, was my last day of school – sort of.

I’m writing a case study of an early college STEM school located on the campus of North Carolina State University. For the past month or so, I’ve spent many hours of many days getting to know the teachers, the staff, the kids, and in general seeing firsthand how this emerging reform effort in education really works.

This particular school has a very long name – Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School. It’s a mouthful and no one ever says the whole thing, but it sums up what the school is all about.

It’s an early college, meaning the kids there will have two years of college credit by the time they graduate. It’s also a STEM school, meaning it focuses intently on science, technology, engineering and math. It’s part of the Wake County Public School System, yet it’s located on the NC State campus. And it’s a high school, one that currently has a ninth and a 10th grade class, and over the course of the next two years, will have an 11th and a 12th grade as well.

Another important feature, one they did not squeeze into the formal name, is that it’s a five-year school, so the students take five, not four years, to get their degree, which includes the high school diploma, the two years of college credit, and the experience of sitting in classrooms with real college kids, doing their homework at NC State libraries, and taking the Wolf Line to get around campus.

The most important feature, however, is…

Click to read the complete post on Lucy Hood’s “Ground Views” blog.