Page 6 - New York Statewide Smart Scholars Overview and Profiles

The Statewide Smart Scholars Early College High School Program

The Smart Scholars Early College High School (ECHS) Program was first proposed by the New
York State Board of Regents in 2009 to help close the student achievement gap. The program
was initiated in 2010 with a three-year, $6 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
to the University of the State of New York, and expanded in 2011 with matching state funding.
Since the initial grant programs ended, the New York State Education Department (NYSED)
continues to fund the 24 Smart Scholars ECHS projects currently in operation around the state.

The Smart Scholars ECHS Program develops and supports early college high schools or ECHS
programs within schools that provide students the opportunity to earn between 20 and 60 college
credits at no cost to their families. Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, all entering students
will have the opportunity to earn at least 24 college credits. The Smart Scholars ECHS schools
and programs are administered through meaningful partnerships between school districts and
institutions of higher education (IHEs). Through the close collaboration of the district and IHE
partners, students receive additional academic support to ensure they are at grade level and
ready to participate in rigorous collegiate courses. The program targets students in the
achievement gap to increase their high school graduation and college completion rates, while
reducing their college tuition costs as a result of the college credits earned in high school.

The Smart Scholars ECHS schools and programs received technical support during their
planning phase and first three years of implementation from an intermediary organization. The
intermediary, SUNY/EDWorks was a partnership between the State University of New York,
Office of the Education Pipeline, and EDWorks, an Ohio-based school turnaround organization
that successfully opened nine early college high schools in Ohio as part of the national Early
College High School Initiative (ECHSI). Through its FastTrack program, EDWorks continues to
support the creation or redesign of early college high schools on a national level. Several of the
Smart Scholars ECHS programs continue to contract with EDWorks for summer support and
professional development.

Key components of the Smart Scholars ECHS program include:
 Targeting high school students from groups that are traditionally underserved, and

underrepresented in postsecondary education – whose likelihood of attending college
without this opportunity would be limited. For example, students who are socioeconomically
disadvantaged, first generation college goers, and minorities.
 Providing students with intense academic and social supports to attain college readiness
and complete college level work
 Providing students with the opportunity to earn 24 to 60 transferable college credits
(including dual credits) along with their high school diplomas, at no cost to the students’
families.

An evaluation conducted by the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and
Teaching (NCREST) at Teachers College, Columbia University (Barnett, Kim, Zander, & Avilo,
2013) praised the Smart Scholars ECHS program for its effectiveness in enrolling the target
population (for example, 71% were eligible for the free or reduced price lunch program, 84%
were racial/ethnic minorities, and 51% were male), serving large numbers of students (over
4,800 in 2012-13), high quality implementation of whole-school and cohort-model programs,
strong partnerships with postsecondary institutions, high college course enrollment and passing
rates, evidence of authentic college courses being offered, and strong leadership by the state
and intermediary.1

1 Barnett, E., Kim, J., Zander, S. & Avilo, O. (2013). Smart Scholars early college high school program: Evaluation
report. Prepared for the University of the State of New York – Regents Research Fund. New York, NY: National
Center for Restructuring Education, Schools and Teaching (NCREST), Teachers College, Columbia University.