As students at early college high schools across the state show promising results -- lower dropout rates, higher test scores, fewer suspensions -- districts are considering ways to expand these strategies to reach even more students. Efforts at district-wide development include districts in which more than one high school partners with North Carolina New Schools to scale lessons learned from an innovative setting into a traditional setting as well as districts in which similar scaling includes elementary and middle school grade levels.
NC New Schools is helping Duplin County adopt an early-college approach to all its schools, so that students beginning in elementary grades see post-secondary education as an essential step after high school. These schools will now begin following the same strategies aimed at ensuring that all students graduate well prepared for college and career. With post-graduation readiness as the goal, the schools will start a process of transformation with four prongs of support from NC New Schools:
- Coaching for teachers and principals;
- Professional development for teachers;
- Leadership development for principals; and
- Ongoing assistance from NC New Schools staff.
