The college will partner with Amesbury, Haverhill, Lawrence, Methuen, Pentucket Regional, Whittier Regional Vocational Technical, and Lawrence Technical high schools to create a more sustainable early college model that will help high school students prepare for success in college.
Focusing on high school juniors and seniors, the new model includes five key design principles: equitable access, guided academic pathways, enhanced student support, relevant connections to career fields, and high quality partnerships.
The 11th grade program will include courses in English, psychology, math, and science, while the 12th grade program will offer computer science, health, engineering, and education options. There will also be a career component; employers will come into core classes to broaden students’ knowledge of potential career paths.
Northern Essex already has a range of dual enrollment and early college partnerships with high schools in the Merrimack Valley region. The new proposals will allow for these partnerships to adopt a more standardized model and focus on bringing junior and senior high school students to the NECC campus for their core courses.
“Early college programs are crucial for exposing students to the opportunities higher education can create,” says Governor Charlie Baker.
For more information on high school and other early college partnerships available through Northern Essex Community College, please contact Noemi Custodia Lora at 978-738-7401 or ncustodialora@necc.mass.edu.
