The Foundation for California Community Colleges is participating in a national effort that works with underrepresented students who historically have been at risk for not attending college to assist them in:

• Graduating from high school
• Earning an Associate Degree
• Establishing eligibility to transfer to a four-year college or certify in a vocation that provides a family-sustaining wage.

Seed money has been provided through grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.The program is currently underway at 21 operating sites, with two more in the planning stages.

The Foundation for California Community Colleges:

• Selects the ECHS sites
• Assists community colleges and their partner organizations in school planning.
• Provides technical assistance and support once sites are selected.
• Coordinates the sharing of ECHS best practices, facilitates professional development, and promotes effective secondary-community college partnership development and capacity building.
• Works with state agencies and education groups to promote and support Early College High Schools and the Early College High Schools model.

Early College High Schools are small schools that combine high school and college.  They may be organized and operated in a variety of ways.  To receive a grant from the FCCC Initiative, however, the proposed ECHS must include several key elements:    

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The Summer Bridge Program is a collaborative effort that helps to transition high school students to the college setting. The program succeeds in assisting students to acclimate to the academic and social aspects of collegiate life.

Click below see how two Alameda English teachers incorporated the program for their students.