The program, called Early College, is a partnership among Georgia College & State University, Baldwin County School District, and Oconee Regional Educational Services Agency to provide a small grade 7-12 school to serve students who are not currently on track to successfully pursue post-secondary education. A small number of students from Putnam County will also have an opportunity to attend.

Funding of $450,000 came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Woodruff Foundation, Georgia Board of Regents and the Georgia Department of Education. It is one of six programs of its kind funded in Georgia and the only seventh-through-12th-grade program in the state. The Georgia effort is affiliated with the national Early College High School Initiative, an innovative partnership of 12 national education organizations working to create 170 early college high schools, serving more than 65,000 youth, by 2008. To date, 67 early college high schools have opened in 24 states, with a combined enrollment of more than 12,000 students.

Early College is designed to serve students who are capable but are not currently performing at the level needed to successfully pursue college prep programs in ninth grade, said Dr. Linda Irwin-DeVitis, dean of the John H. Lounsbury School of Education. It is designed to accelerate learning and to allow students to earn 60 college credits by the time they graduate from high school and/or to meet the requirements for the Hope Scholarship.

Students will have a mentor teacher who is their primary support. The mentor teacher will work with each student during academic classes and “advisory,” a class designed to provide academic guidance as well as individual support and guidance.

The mentor teacher will work with students through both seventh and eighth grades, preparing them for entry into a college preparatory curriculum in ninth grade. Dual enrollment courses may begin as early as 10th grade. By 11th grade, Early College students will generally be enrolled in several college courses, Irwin-DeVitis said. By the year 2013, 300 students will be enrolled in the Early College.

“We consider this another opportunity to provide a different kind of instruction and different services to children to help make them successful,” said Gene Trammell, superintendent of Baldwin County Schools. “That’s what we’re all about – making kids successful.”

The Early College high school will be located on the GC&SU campus and will draw upon the expertise of university faculty as well as the full-time Early College high school teachers. Georgia College students will provide mentoring and tutoring. University faculty will teach special seminars. Student teachers and interns will have placements in Early College classrooms and Early College students will have the use of the library, technology labs, and college facilities. In addition, each student will be issued a “Bobcat” ID card with the privileges and responsibilities of all Georgia College students

"Georgia College & State University is delighted to be a part of this significant partnership with Baldwin County Schools, Putnam County Schools, and Oconee RESA," said President Dorothy Leland. "I commend Dean Linda Irwin-DeVitis, GC&SU faculty, and our community partners for their commitment to improving educational opportunities for local students. As the Early College program takes form, I look forward to sharing our success and demonstrating the unique impact of Georgia's public liberal arts university on student achievement in high school and college."

Featuring small classes and an accelerated curriculum, Early College will enroll 50 seventh-grade students in fall 2006. A website, brochures, and informational meetings will be scheduled in the next few months for interested students and their families.

“The successful grant proposal involved the efforts of more than 30 leaders and teachers from Georgia College, Baldwin County Schools, Oconee RESA and Putnam County Schools,” said Irwin-DeVitis.

Early College high school is the second alternative to the traditional programs being provided to area students and families. The Davis Performing Learning Center, a self-paced computer assisted instructional facility, opened in 2002.

“We are looking forward to hiring Early College teachers who have proven abilities to accelerate the learning of underperforming students,” said Irwin-DeVitis. “The School of Education faculty and students as well as folks from Student Affairs, Enrollment Management and the Schools of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Allied Health and Business are also enthusiastic about the opportunity to be involved with Early College. We are particularly pleased to partner with Baldwin County Schools, Putnam County Schools and Oconee RESA in this new project.”