Anderson High School recently reached a landmark in college prep education.
Through its Anderson High University program, AHS became the first school in Madison County to receive an Early College High School endorsement from the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning.
CELL, based at the University of Indianapolis, helps to “bridge the gap between research, policy, and practice to enhance student success in PK-12 and higher education” and aims to transform “lives through learning,” according to its website.
Early College High Schools provide students the opportunity to earn college credits, as well as “provide rigorous coursework, establish a college-going culture, and collaborate with community and higher education partners to inspire students to achieve academic success and pursue postsecondary opportunities.”
Sixty-seven schools, including AHS, have been endorsed as Early College High Schools in Indiana. To receive the endorsement, a school must have shown excellence in each of the eight core principles.
AHS Principal Alan Landes said it was gratifying to be recognized for the work the school has done to receive the endorsement.
“We’ve implemented dual credit for a long time, and we’ve looked at being an Early College school, so it was a relief,” Landes said. “It is something we are very proud of, and we’re just looking forward to what it holds for our students. We know what it means for our college-bound students, especially those first-(generation) kids.”
Anderson High University is a partnership between AHS and Ivy Tech Community College meant to create “academic skills necessary for college success,” according to the AHS website.
The Pathfinder Academy program, a part of Anderson High University, is meant “to meet the needs of underserved students by providing extra support for successful college level education during and beyond high school.”
David Perrel, a science and Project Lead the Way teacher at Anderson High, was a member of the AHS Guiding Coalition Team. Perrel said he is proud of the work AHS teachers have done for the endorsement and hopes it helps students.
“It helps them, not just be prepared for college-level work, but maybe helps lighten their load a little bit once they get there,” Perrel said. “To be part of that and enhance what we offer our community and our students is a great honor.”
Perrel said the AHS administration spent two years going to meetings about the Early College High School program and connected with educators from around Indiana to bring ideas back to Anderson.
Several years ago, AHS was one of 16 schools in Indiana to be selected for the urban college acceleration network, which branched off of CELL.
Each selected school was then partnered with a “mentor” school that had already received the Early College High School endorsement. Anderson partnered with Muncie Central High School.
Michele Mullins, an AHS school counselor and another member of the AHS Guiding Coalition Team, said “it all fell into place” for AHS to receive the endorsement.
“Being officially recognized as an Early College designated school just helps reinforce our school and corporation’s commitment to the rigor of the academics,” Mullins said. “We had the right team together with interest and drive.
“We had specific times carved out where we had to attend meetings, so that helped us to set the time aside to create a plan for our programs and for our offerings and how to support students.”
Joshua Dillard, an engineering, science and Project Lead the Way teacher at Anderson, teaches introduction to engineering and design, part of the Early College High School program.
Dillard often relates academics to real-life situations.
“Just to teach students about the world around us and to have that authentic learning experience that you don’t get in a lot of other classes,” Dillard said. “I love math, I love science. Where does it connect with the world? … That’s what I love about this class.”
Through Early College High Schools, students can earn Indiana College Core credits — “30 credit hours of general education college-level coursework that transfers seamlessly among all Indiana public colleges and universities,” according to the IDOE website.
To be considered an Early College High School, “support systems” must help students understand what college is like and how to apply, Landes said.
“The Early College model targets those students who would be first-generation college-goers,” he explained. “We are partnering with Stephanie Moran with the Youth Leadership Academy (of Madison County). … They are going to start coming in and providing some academic, as well as college-going culture support, for our kids.”
The school must submit data every year and be reevaluated by CELL every few years to retain its Early College High School designation, Landes said.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.