Implementation Supports of the Early College Expansion Partnership

As originally conceptualized, Early Colleges were small schools focused purposefully on college readiness for all students. Frequently located on college campuses, Early Colleges targeted students who might face challenges in postsecondary education, including students who were the first in their family to go to college, economically disadvantaged students, English Language Learners (ELL), or students who are members of racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in college. The Early College Expansion Partnership (ECEP) is among the first large-scale effort to apply Early College strategies into comprehensive high schools. Supported by a $15 million grant from U.S. Department of Education's Investing in Innovation (i3) program, the ECEP was designed to increase the number of students graduating from high school prepared for enrollment and success in postsecondary education. The project sought to blend high school and college by applying strategies from the successful Early College high school model to 14 middle schools, 12 high schools, and two 6th-12th-grade schools in three districts in two states: Colorado and Texas. ECEP implemented an adapted version of the Early College High School Model. The program provided a set of services that supported implementation of a whole-school reform model emphasizing the creation of a college-preparatory school environment. A primary emphasis of the program was increasing the number of students who participated in college-credit-bearing courses while in high school. This report describes describes: (1) the district context in which the program was operating, documenting changes that occurred over the life of the grant; and (2) the implementation of the five "buckets" of implementation supports: (1) technical assistance to districts; (2) leadership coaching; (3) the Community of Practice; (4) instructional coaching; and (5) the i3 Cabinet. Each section begins with an overarching description of the common activities occurring across the three districts. This broader description is followed by district-specific write-ups that describe how the supports were adapted for the specific district context. Each section also includes a measure of the Fidelity of Implementation for that activity. Finally, each section concludes with a description of lessons learned, specific to that activity. The report concludes with a discussion around the extent to which the different supports will be able to be sustained after the grant ends and a synthesis of lessons learned from this work and includes participants' recommendations around how to replicate this work in other settings. [For the companion report, "Transforming Comprehensive High Schools into Early Colleges: The Impacts of the Early College Expansion Partnership," see ED618202.]