Y'town Early College full of possibilities

The power of partnerships and innovative thinking are stimulating the success of the Youngstown Early College. Youngstown State University and the Youngstown City School District continue to collaborate in jointly sponsoring YEC, a non-traditional educational program that enrolls high school students in college.

YEC students, YSU students, parents, community leaders, YSU faculty and administrators, city school officials and YEC staff are working cooperatively to ensure that the program objectives are being realized.

While recently presenting an assessment of the YEC program to the YSU Board of Trustees, I enthusiastically made the following opening statement: "Youngstown Early College is a project full of possibilities." My evaluation was predicated on the overall positive aspects and the favorable statistical results. YEC is an educational program that goes beyond academics — it is changing a culture by providing an opportunity for higher learning to youth who are primarily underrepresented minorities and who are first generation college students.

An educational program of this caliber can indeed create endless possibilities for life-learning, civic responsibility and economic development. For two consecutive years, YEC students exceeded the Ohio Graduation Test rate for the school district and YEC was declared a School of Excellence. All 197 current YEC students completed at least one college course. Four students earned a 4.0 grade point average in those college courses. Seventeen students earned a GPA between 3.0 and 3.99, and an additional 49 students were on record as being in "good standing."

Early stage

Having been established just three years ago, the Early College is still in its early stage, prompting stakeholders to take particular note of best practices and the challenges it has experienced. Led by the YEC dean, the school's leadership team is committed to strengthening program aspects where needed. In an effort to further advance the YEC program, the teachers are advocating for greater student support services and classes that meet the needs of the student population. A standard six semester curriculum was developed for incoming freshman based on theories of adolescent development and the academic preparation needed to succeed in college courses.

The students in the Early College identified small class size, the ability to take college credit courses, and freedom at YEC as the main reasons that they enrolled in the program. Furthermore, open lines of communication across organizations allowed intra-organizational problem-solving and the development of interventions, resulting in three programs to improve student transition to the college community; improve school culture and climate; and conduct a summer bridge program to improve the transition for entering ninth-grade students.

The assessment that I facilitated created a forum that allowed expression of perceptions, opinions, problem identification and a mechanism to engage in problem solving. Rome was not built in a day. YEC is well on its way to making a life-changing impact on the lives of students.

Alison J. Harmon, Ed.D., a native of Youngstown, is a senior consultant with J&H Consultants, a firm that specializes in transforming schools.