ACADEMICS

The Colorado Springs Early Colleges:

Earn a college degree while in high school . . . FOR FREE!

The Colorado Springs Early Colleges is a learner centered teaching environment where students progress through the high school core curriculum at a pace best suited to them. We cater to students who are lost - and - to students who want to accelerate their education

No longer bored, no longer left behind, every students can become a high school graduate . . . and more.

And, now you may earn your Associates Degree while in high school in the Colorado Springs Early Colleges!

• Are you bored with school?
• Are you lost in some subjects?
• Do you feel you are wasting time attending school?
• Perhaps college is the right path for you - right now?
• Or maybe you want to learn a trade - or run your own business?

Then the Colorado Springs Early Colleges may be right for you!

At the Colorado Springs Early Colleges we have chosen the very same curriculum as is used by the Colorado Community College system to bring their students to "college ready" status.  This curriculum serves as the foundation for all we do in the Freshmen and Sophomore years of high school.  Then, once the students have proven themselves "college ready" we begin to enroll them in college courses.  Many, if not most, of these courses will be taken on our CTU campus.  However, if a student is interested in pursuing a course taught at PPCC or UCCS, we will allow them to do so, with their parent/guardian permission, of course.

Every gt pathways college course that our students take while attending the Colorado Springs Early Colleges is guaranteed to transfer to any other college or university in the State of Colorado.  And if a student happens to choose to attend a college or university outside the state, the student's faculty advisor will work with them to choose those classes that will transfer to the college or university of their choice.

Through a concept known as "dual enrollment" the college courses our students take will also count toward their high school graduation requirements.  As a result, our students will graduate from the Colorado Springs Early Colleges with a high school diploma and a minimum of 30 college credits.  That's equivalent to one full year of college. 

And did we tell you that we pay the cost of tuition, books and fees for our students who attend college?  It's almost too good to be true.  In fact, that's our biggest problem - this all appears too good to be true:

• We bring our students to "college ready" status by their Junior year of high school - even those who are behind grade level.
• We then enroll them in college courses giving our students the opportunity to complete at least one year of college while in high school.
• For the highly motivated student there's even the opportunity to complete two full years of college while in high school; for some they will actually earn an Associates Degree while in high school.
• And there is no cost to the students or their parents!

Here's how we do this.  The State of Colorado provides funding that follows the student to the school where they enroll.  The Colorado Springs Early Colleges receives funding from the state to pay for the education of the students who enroll.  We will never have to hire teachers to teach the Juniors and Seniors in our school, for they are going to college.  Instead, we use the money we would have spent on teachers to pay the cost of tuition, books and fees for our students who are attending college courses in their Junior and Senior years of high school.

So it works. 

There is so much more to learn.  The best way to do so is to come to one of our Informational Meetings.  They are held twice a month at our school; typically Monday nights, beginning at 7 PM.  However, you also have the option to call our school and make an appointment for apersonal visit.  Or, if there's a larger group who would like information, please give us a call to arrange an Informational Meeting at a location of your choosing.

And don't forget to ask us about our "Refer A Friend" program.  For every full time student you refer to our school, who remains enrolled through the end of December, you can earn a $100 gift card or scholarship.  It's a great way to build the school as you would design it, and earn money toward your future education at the same time.

For now, included below are some of the slides we show at our Informational Meetings.  Please feel free to puruse these slides, and then ask questions.  Come to one of our Informational Meetings to get answers, or check our Frequently Asked Questions page, maybe the answer will be there.  And, of course, you can always call.  We're happy to help.

Early Colleges Student’s Bill of Rights

Each student will have the following rights:

1. Mastery of reading, writing and math skills that allows progress on to college credit courses without remediation.
2. A high school experience that gives students access to a maximum of 60 credit hours of college courses.
3. Students will receive the assessments necessary to ensure their academic progress is successful.
4. Each student will be given the opportunity to earn credit for an internship that corresponds to their area of vocational and educational interests.
5. Guidance and advisory assistance that would include scholarship opportunities for post-secondary education endeavors.
6. Students will succeed regardless background, experience, ethnicity or sex.
7. Students will have an Individual Education Plan.
8. Students will have access to a faculty advisor.
9. Students will be adequately prepared to pursue post-graduation instruction and life experiences.
10. Students will be given character development activities.
11. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in individualized physical exercise programs.
12. Students will upon graduation receive a high school diploma in addition college credit up to and including an associate’s degree.  

COLLEGE COURSES - GUARANTEED TO TRANSFER

We are especially interested in making sure that the students who attend the Early Colleges are making progress toward their future education and their future careers.  Therefore, the courses that we would like to see our students take are those which are, by law, guaranteed to transfer to any college or university.  The course schedule outlined below offers our students an insight into what those courses would be, and when to take them.

This is not to say that these course schedules are fixed.  Every student will be given the opportunity to create an Individualized Learning Plan, and with the help of their Faculty Advisor, design a course schedule that meets their specific needs. 

EXAMPLE: PART-TIME STUDENT COLLEGE COURSE SCHEDULE

EXAMPLE: FULL-TIME STUDENT COLLEGE COURSE SCHEDULE