All five Houston Community College’s Early College High Schools earned an exemplary rating in the 2010 ratings by the Texas Education Agency (TEA). HCC partners with the Houston Independent School District (HISD) in the operation of the Challenge Early College High School on the West Loop Campus of Southwest College, North Houston Early College High School located at HCC Northeast Northline campus, East Early College High School on Southeast College’s Felix Fraga Campus and the Houston Academy for International Studies High School (HAIS) near Central College. The Alief Early College High School, located on the Alief Campus of HCC Southwest, is the product of a partnership between HCC and Alief ISD.
Texas’ first early college high school, Challenge Early College High School, opened in 2003. Through 2005 the high school was situated in a series of temporary buildings located on the grounds of HCC West Loop campus. In August 2005, the doors opened to the newly constructed high school located within the West Loop campus building, 5601 West Loop South. The first class to graduate was the class of 2005.
The Houston Academy for International Studies (HAIS) opened in 2006 with just around 100 students. Students today attend classes on the campus of the former HISD J. Will Jones Elementary School. The 380 HAIS students are integrated in Central College dual-credit courses.
The East Early College High School opened its doors in 2006 with 115 freshmen. More than 400 students will attend classes this fall in the new Leonel Castillo Academic Center on the HCC Felix Fraga Campus at HCC Southeast.
The North Houston Early College High School opened with 108 students on the HCC Northeast Northline campus in 2008. Still housed in HISD temporary buildings, the school endeavors to increase student achievement, college readiness and, ultimately, the completion rate for college degrees.
Located on the HCC Alief Campus, the Alief Early College High School held its first classes in fall 2009. One hundred students attended classes on the Alief Campus and earned college credits while working toward obtaining their high school diploma. A permanent facility for the Alief Early College High School opens Fall 2010 with 200 students scheduled to enroll.
Early college high school provides high school-age students with a “seamless” pathway from high school to college. Housed on HCC campuses, with articulated sharing of space and staff, ECHS allows the high school student to gradually integrate into college course work through his or her traditional high school degree plan. This integration requires dual enrollment, with an additional year for concentrated college coursework and with the student having to show mastery of the knowledge and skills necessary for success.
After tackling this rigorous course of study, students graduate high school and many earn an associate’s degree or up to 61 college credits, transferable to the post-secondary institution of their choice. ECHS provides strong support to each student and the family in obtaining entrance to, and success in, higher education.
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