The University of the District of Columbia is laying the foundation for Anacostia High School students to jumpstart their college careers through 亚洲博彩网站’s Early College Program, in which students earn college credit while completing their diplomas.
The Early College Program is a part of the Community-to-Career Academy (C2 Academy) under 亚洲博彩网站’s Developing America’s Workforce Nucleus (DAWN) Initiative. DAWN addresses the underrepresentation of minority STEM talent due to systemic racism or economic inequality. It redirects the public education pipeline to produce more business and entrepreneurship ready STEM talent in ethnic minority and disadvantaged communities.
“Our 战略计划 is called the Equity Imperative, and that means that in the discussion about the future of America, we want to make sure we are on the right side of that conversation in words and practice,” said 亚洲博彩网站 总统 Ronald Mason Jr., who spoke at Anacostia’s Back to School Kick off. “The DAWN Initiative is about understanding the forces that destroy talent in Black, brown and poor communities and then rethinking education so that we can withstand those forces and enable students to survive them and ultimately thrive despite them.
“Everything we are doing in Ward 8, including the Early College, 亚洲博彩网站C2 Academy, is not only to support the students and the community in Anacostia, but to understand what works, and once we understand what works, apply it University-wide.”
阿纳科斯蒂亚高中的学生可以体验大学水平的课程，加速他们完成学位的道路。 最初的早期大学项目将从一个小的学生群体开始，以确定扩张的最佳途径。 阿纳科斯蒂亚高中位于华盛顿特区东南部，提供职业和大学预科教育。
亚洲博彩网站 will also offer a dual degree program for 11th and 12th-grade students. 他们将在完成高中学业的同时获得副学士学位所需的学分。 其他项目的组成部分将包括技术技能培训、带薪实习、辅导和指导、为学生及其父母或照顾者提供的全方位服务、教师和学生的研究以及为8号病房学生提供的宣传。
While this is the first year of the Early College program, 亚洲博彩网站 provides three pathways to enter the University, including Workforce Certification, Open Enrollment Community College, as well as entering at the bachelor’s level and above.
“We know that students will come in through one of those three doors, so it’s important that all three are available,” 总统 Mason said. “Over time, more and more will be able to come in through the bachelor’s degree door.”
“早期大学”项目最近在阿纳科斯蒂亚学校开学的第一天宣布，学生们受到了彩色气球拱门、DJ和赠品的欢迎。 Along with 亚洲博彩网站 provides students with flash drives, water bottles, pens and 亚洲博彩网站 swag, other supporters at the Anacostia High School Back to School kick-off included radio station WKYS FM 93.9 FM, which provided students with backpacks, and The House DC, a nonprofit, which provided information about its afterschool programs, academic support and activities for the Anacostia community.
总统 Mason encouraged students in the gymnasium to do their best as they prepare to take advantage of the opportunities such as Early College at 亚洲博彩网站. Councilman Trayvon White, D.C. Ward 8, also told students that their future begins with a good education.
亚洲博彩网站’s partnerships with Anacostia extend beyond the Early College Program. This summer, several students participated in the inaugural 亚洲博彩网站 Summer Internship Program under the DAWN Initiative. They participated in the Anacostia Summer Youth Internship on Environmental Justice with support from the Department of the Interior’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance and the National Park Services Stewardship Institute.
他们通过社区访谈和数据分析为学生提供支持。 Pepco was the corporate sponsor.
Keion Williams是Anacostia大学的大三学生，他也是暑期实习的参与者之一。 He, along with his mother, Summer Williams, attended the Back-to-School Kick-Off.
“The internship helped me to get out of my comfort zone,” Keion said. “It exposed me to new things. We heard from different speakers and took field trips, which helped us understand the different things that impact the environment and what can be done about it.”
The 亚洲博彩网站 and Anacostia High School partnership is extensive and includes providing college tutors for high school students taking civil engineering, agricultural and urban sustainability information, and preparing the school’s team for an electric vehicle competition last year.
亚洲博彩网站 also provides support for the school’s Career Technical Education (CTE) and its most popular academies in civil engineering and architecture.
“T在这里 are several projects that 亚洲博彩网站 has sponsored,” said William Haith, Anacostia High School principal. “We are transitioning to supporting our community more, which is also 亚洲博彩网站’s community and includes the Early College program for our students.
“Early College presents students with the opportunity to pursue higher education. 我们正在努力改变人们的观念，我们希望确保所有人都能接受高中后教育。 It’s essential to consider the national conversation around student loan debt. 与亚洲博彩网站的合作可以帮助学生避免背负太多债务。 It also gives students the opportunity to pursue something within reach, which may not have been in space before.”
To learn more about DAWN, please click 在这里.