1 NC State University College of Education May 6, 2011

2 North Carolina New Schools Project Mission To spark and support systemic, sustainable innovation in secondary schools across the state so that all students graduate prepared for college, work and life. Role NCNSP brokers educational innovation in cooperation with business, government, higher education, public schools and local communities.

3 School Demonstrate success with schools across North Carolina “Transform a school ” Government, education and business leaders leverage NCNSP’s success and work together to create widespread innovation Scaling Educational Innovation Aligned with Economic Development “Demonstrate what successful schools look like and increase demand for transformation” “Transform high school education in North Carolina”

4  Hosted by two-or-four year IHEs  Target first generation, high needs students  Earn HS diploma; two years of college  High rigor, high support  Nontraditional schedule, staffing, instruction, etc.  Integrated approach to PD North Carolina Early College High Schools

5 NCNSP Schools Graduate More Students 4-Year Graduation RateNC Public SchoolsNCNSP Schools Note: NCNSP partner schools enroll a greater proportion of poor students compared to NC as a whole. Last year, 46 NCNSP schools lost NO students to dropping out

6 Early College High Schools Achieve Results  Early college high schools make strong academic gains – Nine of every ten of early college high schools outperformed comparison high schools in their school districts on the state’s ABC assessment system in – Nineteen early college high schools had a combined cohort graduation rate of 90 percent in 2010, with nine of these schools posting graduation rates exceeding 95 percent.  Students are challenged – As a measure of academic rigor, 31.1 percent of early college high school students were enrolled in Algebra II in , compared to a 17.9 percent Algebra II participation rate for traditional schools in North Carolina.  Students remain in school – The dropout rate in for early college high schools was 0.6 percent versus 3.75 percent for all schools. – Of the 70 early college high schools in operation in , 60 of them – 86 percent – had no dropouts during the critically important ninth grade year. – The ninth grade promotion rate, a leading indicator of eventual graduation, was 98 percent for early college high schools in compared to 87.5 percent for all North Carolina schools.  Students perform in college – While 70 percent of typical students earned a grade of “C” or better in community college courses in , 75 percent of early college students did so.

7 Wake - NC State Early College  NCNSP approached Chancellor Oblinger to initiate planning, assigned school change coach  Emphasis on mathematic for high needs students  School being considered as a potential anchor site for a statewide network of STEM energy and sustainability themed schools  Other STEM networks to include biotechnology/ ag science; health & life sciences and aerospace/cyber security  Networks to include virtual and regular peer-to-peer observation and review

8 NewSchoolsProject.org