“Students who attend these schools are twice as likely to earn a post-secondary credential as those who go the traditional route — twice as likely,” said DCCCD Chancellor Dr. Joe May.
Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — April 15, 2016
(DALLAS) — In Texas, everything is bigger. That’s why the Dallas County Community College District and the Dallas Independent School District are making a big splash this fall when DISD opens eight new collegiate high schools simultaneously.
Opening eight new collegiate academies all on the same day in one school district is a big Texas “first,” and so is the new P-Tech (Pathways to Technology) early college high school in Seagoville, with corporate sponsor AT&T, which is among the group of new schools.
Students who enroll in the new collegiate academies can earn up to 60 college credit hours through DCCCD’s dual credit program; some students will be able to graduate with both an associate degree and a high school diploma. That puts them two years ahead as they transfer to a four-year college or university, or it provides them with credentials to enter the workforce and qualify for a job that pays well — a living wage.
Dual Credit Offers Many Benefits
Tuition for the dual credit program is provided by DCCCD, with the support of its board of trustees.
Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor, said during a news conference this week, “Each student basically is receiving a scholarship of $3,540. The eight new collegiate high schools will accept 100 students each. That’s more than $2.8 million in tuition provided by our district.”
Students in a physics class at Eastfield College who are enrolled in the Samuell Early College High School test springs and solve automobile suspension equations. Dr. Joe May, DCCCD’s chancellor (right), and Dr. Michael Hinojosa, DISD’s superintendent (left), observe.
May pointed out another major benefit. “Students who attend these schools are twice as likely to earn a post-secondary credential as those who go the traditional route — twice as likely,” he emphasized. “The new collegiate academies are putting more students in the college pipeline.”
Dr. Michael Hinojosa, DISD’s superintendent, called it a “game changer” for students. “DISD is bringing back students who have left some of our schools to attend these new collegiate academies. Their books are free. Their tuition and transportation are free,” he said.
Several years ago, DISD almost closed Samuell High School based on performance. Hinojosa said the school now ranks in the upper 50 percent of DISD’s high schools, largely because of its collegiate academy.
Samuell’s first early college high school class of 27 students will graduate from Eastfield College in May with an associate degree — that’s several weeks before they graduate from high school.
Collegiate Academies Expand Options
The fall 2016 expansion will include these schools and affiliated DCCCD colleges:
- David W. Carter High School, Cedar Valley College;
- Dr. Emmett Conrad High School, Richland College;
- James Madison High School, El Centro College;
- L.G. Pinkston High School, El Centro College;
- Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, El Centro College;
- Seagoville P-Tech High School, Eastfield College;
- South Oak Cliff High School, Mountain View College; and
- Thomas Jefferson High School, Brookhaven College.
Currently, DISD students already attend these schools:
- Kathlyn Gilliam Collegiate Academy at Cedar Valley;
- Wright Lassiter Jr. Early College High School at El Centro;
- Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School at Mountain View; and
- W.W. Samuell and H. Grady Spruce Early College High Schools at Eastfield.
AT&T will provide collaborative consulting and mentoring at the state’s first P-Tech high school in Seagoville.
The 800 students chosen to attend the new collegiate academies this fall are incoming 9th-graders (100 per campus); the district will add another level each year. Students will remain at their own high school campuses in grades 9 and 10. During their junior and senior years, they will attend classes on the DCCCD college campus affiliated with their own early college high school.
A Glimpse of What’s Coming
DCCCD and DISD administrators, as well as members of the news media, visited an AP physics class, taught by Eastfield faculty member Godlove Fumbu, on April 12 to talk to students about their early college high school experience. All were enthusiastic about the opportunity and about graduating with an associate degree.
Graduating seniors Karla Rangel and Jose “Tito” Lopez talked about learning how to manage their time and participating in college-level coursework. They both will attend Texas A&M University in the fall.
May and Hinojosa observed students testing springs for a car suspension project in class and talked with them about the early college high school experience. Dr. Jean Conway, president of Eastfield College, welcomed guests, reporters and students for the announcement.
For more information, contact Ann Hatch in the DCCCD office of public and governmental affairs at 214-378-1819 or at
ahatch@dcccd.edu; or Libby Daniels in the DISD office of communication services at 972-925-3923 or at
libdaniels@dallasisd.org.
For general information about the new collegiate academies, visit
dallasisd.org/collegiateacademies.
# # #