• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

A New Kind of High School in Carteret County

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Jannette Pippin, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.

Oct. 24--MOREHEAD CITY -- Planning is under way for a new kind of high school in Carteret County.

The school system has received a $40,000 planning grant from the state to design a high school program where students would get college credit and job training along with their diploma.

The county is one of 22 in the state to receive one of the latest planning grants to create the new program under Gov. Mike Easley's Learn and Earn initiative.

"Students at the 14 Learn and Earn pilot high schools now open across the state are achieving success in the classroom and becoming better prepared for the 21st century workplace," Easley said in a prepared statement. "These additional planning grants will help us expand the Learn and Earn program statewide and provide more students with the opportunity to graduate high school with an advanced degree and practical job skills that prepare them for a career in the new economy."

The school system will now have to design the program and apply for the $1.5 million grant needed to implement the plans. If the grant is received, the intent is to open the school in August 2006.

The local program would be a partnership with Carteret Community College.

The proposed Compass Early College High School would be located on the Carteret Community College campus and would serve up to 120 students, with 30 entering in the first year.

The students would enter the school in the ninth grade and graduate four or five years later with a high school diploma and either an associate's degree or two years of transferable college credit.

With features such as small class sizes, a strong support system, personalized learning environment, mentoring and job-related internships, Learn and Earn schools provide a unique opportunity outside of the traditional high school setting, said Tamara Ishee, Carteret County school system's director of secondary education.

"It would be an alternative to the traditional schools we have that haven't worked for everybody," she said.

While the Learn and Earn schools are not limited to students at-risk of dropping out of high school, reducing the drop-out rate is one of the goals.

"It provides small classes and a lot of support for students who might not have ever thought of going to college or might have been at risk of dropping out," Ishee said.

According to Easley's Learn and Earn initiative, the prospect of graduating with practical job skills and an advanced degree provide an additional incentive for students to stay in school.

Craven, Pender and Pamlico counties also received the grant.

-----

To see more of The Daily News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: The Daily News

More News in this Category