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Fast-Track High Schools Put Kids in College Early: CMS Hopes to Try Rigorous Approach Being Used in Durham

Posted on: Sunday, 5 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Ann Doss Helms, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Feb. 5--DURHAM -- Yes, the freshmen at N.C. Central University look younger these days.

Some are ninth-graders taking part in an innovative high school/college blend that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools hopes to try.

Students at Clement Early College High, housed in N.C. Central's education building, spend their first two years whipping through high school classes required for graduation. Next year, the pioneer class will shift to college courses, taken for high school and college credit.

These students, many from homes where college is not a tradition, will leave ready to handle university work, says Principal Nicholas King. They'll have support as they begin the rigorous classes -- and won't slip into the bad habits that bring down many college rookies.

An early college magnet at Waddell High offers similar opportunities but is based at the southwest Charlotte school. CMS is seeking grants to create high schools at UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College.

Students in the first class at Clement say they were oddities last year. Sophomores Aria Halliday, Jessica Green and Shaneece Davis say they sometimes miss the social life of a normal high school. But they're motivated by goals -- law school for Aria, college and professional child-care careers for Jessica and Shaneece.

Motivation and maturity are essential, says King. Students compete for slots. They don't have to be top students, but they must agree to tackle honors-level courses and keep up the pace.

"You really don't have time to play," said Jessica, 16.

English teacher Tatia Davis says parent support is essential; she knows all her students and their families. And the small setting reduces distractions.

"We don't have gangs here," she said. "We don't have cliques."

This semester, sophomores leave their wing in the education school for one college class. Next year they'll spend most of their time walking around campus like college kids.

Jessica says some of her friends worry about the work and talk about switching to regular high schools. "They're saying they want their high school life back, because it's going too fast for them."

Challenges lie ahead for the staff, too, as they help teens navigate the academic and social waters.

In the hall after classes Thursday, a college student showed a cluster of admiring high schoolers the tattoos snaking up her back and sides.

King contemplated his prospects: "Many sleepless nights ahead."

Clement Early College High

Opened: August 2004.

Students: 158 ninth- and 10th-graders.

Makeup: About three-fourths are African American. Almost two-thirds are from low-income families. More than half have parents who didn't attend college.

Early results: 92 percent of last year's freshman passed English I exams, 10 points above state average. 61 percent passed Algebra I exams, 19 points below state average.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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