Challenge Early College High School, A MCNC Member School, Wins Prestigious U.S. Blue Ribbon Award

Challenge Early College High School, a MCNC Member school, is a recipient of this year's U.S. Blue Ribbon award for having its students score in the top 10% on Texas State tests. The award is aligned with President Obama's goal of making education the lynchpin in improving the U.S. economy, closing the achievement gap, and making US business competitive in the global market place. The MCNC Early College model provides high school students, especially those underserved by their previous schools, the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree, or up to two years of credit toward a bachelor's degree.

New York, New York (PRWEB) October 04, 2011

Challenge Early College High School @ Houston Community College SW (Texas), a MCNC Member school, is one of this year's winners of the prestigious U.S. Blue Ribbon award which is eagerly sought by public and private schools across the country. To qualify, schools must be serving a population that has previously been underserved by their schools. The Blue Ribbon Award rewards schools that have increased student achievement and narrowed the achievement gap. Blue Ribbon schools meet one of two criteria:
Challenge Early College High School received the Blue Ribbon award for having its students score in the top 10% on Texas State tests. The award is aligned with President Obama's goal of making education the lynchpin to improving the U.S. economy and closing the achievement gap.    Previous MCNC U.S. Blue Ribbon award winners are Middle College HS @ Santa Ana College, Middle College HS @San Joaquin Delta College, Greenville Technical Charter High School @ Greenville Technical College, Harbor Teacher Preparatory Academy @ Los Angeles Harbor College and Middle College High School @ Contra Costa College. Cecilia Cunningham, founder and director of MCNC, stated that Challenge ECHS has been successful because “The faculty and administration not only deeply care about their students, but they have immersed themselves in professional development to improve their practice. The results of this hard work can be seen in their college going rate. In the 2009-2010 school year 75% of Challenge's graduating class enrolled in a four year college and 20% in a two year college.” Dr. Cunningham added that "Justin Fuentes, the former principal of Challenge, and his successor, Tonya Miller, are perfect examples of the difference good leadership can make."

•     They dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests;
•     Their students achieve in the top 10 percent of their state on state tests;

The MCNC Early College model provides high school students, especially those underserved by their previous schools, the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree, or up to two years of credit toward a bachelor's degree. This dual enrollment initiative exposes students to the college “experience”, rigorous high school and college classes, new ways of viewing the world and getting a head start on a college degree. It also gives the opportunity for high school teachers to align their curriculum with college classes and allows college professors to collaborate with high school faculty. MCNC high schools emphasize embedding college knowledge strategies into practice. The MCNC peer review model is a major part of the professional development to improve teacher practice and increase student achievement. The peer review program is designed to publicly share and discuss teachers' best practice and is structured around reflective writings and a formal peer review.

Middle College National Consortium, headquartered in New York City, is a leader in the movement to establish and sustain dual enrollment as a viable and necessary educational model. Middle College National Consortium's mission is to develop small schools in which high school students, especially those who have been previously underserved by their former schools, can earn both a high school diploma and either an associate degree or transferable college credits upon graduation.

To learn more about the Middle College National Consortium, visit us at (http://www.mcnc.us/) for a comprehensive overview of our history, design principles, current work and achievements.

Contact information

Tony Hoffmann
Middle College National Consortium
http://mcnc.us

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebDualEnrollment/EarlyCollege/prweb8829419.htm