Long story short
Through their previous agreement with Alamo Colleges, district officials designed a program that will encourage first-generation college students to attain an associate of arts degree.
“Currently, we have many programs that are designed to foster avenues for students to work towards the attainment of what we call core 42, which are hours that are transferable to all state universities, but [the district does] not [have] an associate's degree [program],” Superintendent John Craft said.
Craft said this program would be slightly different from other magnet programs offered by NISD because it would target underrepresented students who wish to be on a college track.
Jerry Woods, assistant superintendent of high school instruction, said this program will target students in the Advancement Via Individual Determination program, which are students with average GPAs who have a desire to attain a higher education.
“Our target student is an AVID-type student. These are the students that we know are often underrepresented in college and being college bound,” Woods said.
Additionally, the program would offer 60 hours of credit instead of the 42 college hours earned through other programs.
The associate degree program will be housed at John Jay High School, and will be offered to the incoming freshman class in August.
Current recruiting efforts are focused on the 10 middle schools that feed into John Jay, Oliver Wendell Holmes, John Marshall and John Paul Stevens high schools.
“Our goal is around 70 students getting enrolled in the program. These students will be enrolled in both the program and also in dual credit at Northwest Vista College,” Woods said.
The enrollment form will be open for applications until Dec. 20.
Put in perspective
Craft said this program is important to help San Antonio youth gain a better advantage in the job market and earn higher wages.
“[About] 27.7% of San Antonians age 25 and older have a bachelor's degree, compared to Austin, [with] 61.7% of Austinites 25 years and older, so if we can kick-start this and get more folks to go to college and graduate, [it boost’s] economic development and higher wages.”
Stay tuned
NISD published a timeline for enrollment on its website, including four upcoming parent information sessions.
Early College High School Program parent information sessions:
- Oct. 29, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School auditorium
- Nov. 6 , 6:30-7:30 p.m. at Stevens High School auditorium
- Nov. 7, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at John Jay High School auditorium
- Nov. 12, 6:30-7:30 p.m. at John Marshall High School auditorium
