As higher education costs continue to rise and employers continue to struggle to find work-ready employees, Colorado Early Colleges (CEC), the state’s largest network of early college middle and high schools, continues to graduate outstanding students who are ready to continue their educations or enter the workforce. The class of 2023 earned 388 associate degrees, hundreds of post-secondary and industry certifications and thousands of hours of college credits – all at NO COST to themselves or their families. Graduates come from across the Front Range, attending CEC schools and Colorado community colleges in and near Aurora, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Westminster (a satellite of CEC Fort Collins), Castle Rock, Windsor, Inverness and Parker. In 2023, Colorado Early Colleges launched the Online Campus that serves students with unique needs that might precipitate an online option including professional sports or performance schedules, inaccessible school campuses or personal preference.
As the notions of employment and career are continually changing, Colorado Early Colleges strives to structure individually tailored educational plans that align with students’ talents and interests alongside employment trends and economic development opportunities. Incorporating on-campus, on-site with local higher education partners and online and virtual learning opportunities, a Colorado Early Colleges education is flexible and prepares students for advanced education as well as for entering high-demand, high-compensation careers.
“Year after year, CEC has set the high expectation of ALL graduates to earn a degree and/or industry certification in addition to their high school diploma,” says Sandi Brown, Chief Executive Administrator of the Colorado Early Colleges network. “This expectation is supported by our amazing teaching and support staff. With high expectations, you must offer a high level of support for students to be successful.”
Early college high schools operate differently than schools offering concurrent enrollment, which allows students to get farther ahead in their college and career pursuits. At CEC, there is no restriction on the number of college credits or minimum age a student needs to be to begin swapping high school classes for college courses. In addition, Colorado Early Colleges offers classes and job-ready certificates in advanced technology and industry skills. Colorado Early Colleges employs a collaborative advising model that connects students and parents with internships and apprenticeships, and utilizes Clifton Strengths Finder coaching giving CEC students more opportunity to identify a career and pursue it as they earn their education.
100% of ALL Graduates Earned an Associate Degree and/or an Industry Certification, or 60+ College Credits :
Aurora
In a class of 91 graduating seniors,
20 associate degrees were awarded
73 post-secondary and industry certificates were earned
Castle Rock
In a class of 43 graduating seniors,
25 students earned an associate degree
more than half of the graduates earned at least one post-secondary or industry certification
Colorado Springs
In a class of 134 graduating seniors,
76 associate degrees were awarded
more than 7000 college credits were earned, an average of 52 college credits per student which translates to almost 2 full years of college per graduate
earned 573 post-secondary or industry certifications
Fort Collins
In a class of 231 graduating seniors,
159 students earned an associate degree
graduating seniors earned 469 certifications, more than 2 certifications per student
Inverness
In a class of 65 graduating seniors,
37 students earned an associate degree
27 students earned at least one post-secondary or industry certification
Online Campus (Opened fall of 2022)
In a class of 20 graduating seniors,
2 students earned an associate degree
88 certifications were earned
481.5 college credits earned – an astonishing 24 credits or almost two full college credits per student!
Parker
In a class of 98 graduating seniors,
69 students earned an associate degree
42 students earned at least one post-secondary or industry certification
If you are interested in visiting a CEC campus or learn more about what Colorado Early Colleges has to offer, visit us “Our Schools” page to get started.
