SEATTLE, Wash. — The Early College High School program that Antioch
University administers with Gates Foundation funds has come a long way
since its inception in 2002.

Up and running are five schools, with four more in the planning stages. In
the Tulalip Tribe in Washington state alone, high school graduation rates
have gone from 10 percent to 87 percent, with one-third of graduates
registered for college.

“That had not happened before,” said Antioch’s executive director, Linda
Campbell, Mohawk. “And this same trend is happening across the board. Early
college schools are cutting the dropout rates at least in half, with some
schools like Tulalip doing even better.”

Campbell added that since 2003 when the first school opened (after the year
of planning through which all the ECHS schools initially go), 206 Native
students in Washington have earned between five and 35 college credits
toward their associate degrees.

Gates Foundation money provides $240,000 — $500,000 per school over three
years. Campbell noted that the funding is purposefully modest to prevent
the schools from becoming dependent on grant money. “This way, they have to
immediately start looking for ways to become independent, which we are
proud to say all three of our schools that completed their three years have
done,” she said. “The grant just catalyzes the idea.”

Early college high schools allow students to earn high school diplomas and
credits toward associate degrees in largely the same time traditional
approaches offer only high school diplomas. “That’s the point of the Gates
model,” said Campbell: “to make better use of our time. It’s true that in
order to finish an entire associates degree, some students will take summer
classes and even a 13th year at the early college high school: but even
those that do four regular years can come out with at least some credits
and experience in higher education.”

Campbell’s voice almost trembled as she spoke of her commitment to the ECHS
program. “I just feel so blessed to do this work, and it is very personal
to me. I am the first person in my family to get a college education, and
I’m just so happy that all of my nieces and my nephew and my son have each
gotten some college experience, too,” she said. “So I know what one person
in a family can mean to the next generation. Also, since my mother never
completed high school, I know what it’s like to make your way through the
ranks as a first-generation person.”

The beauty of the ECHS programs with which Campbell works is that they are
located right in Indian country. “The idea came from tribal leaders. They
told us, ‘you’ve got to bring these services to our kids. Our communities
are cohesive.’” Campbell said. “And it’s true that there can be many cracks
the kids can slip through when they leave home for school. Transportation
problems. Unfamiliar environments that can be intimidating at times. So we
thought having services right in the communities was just a fabulous idea.”

Along with localizing college courses, tribal leaders suggested the
integration of cultural content and Native perspectives. “At the Tulalip
Heritage early college, the school counselor is Tulalip, a tribal historian
works with students, six out of eight of the teachers are Native and the
principal is African-American.”

An unexpected outcome of bringing access to higher education to local
tribal communities is that adults are getting interested. “We know that
elders in families influence younger members, but we have the reverse going
on. We have the youth influencing their older adult family members who have
started asking if they could go to school with their kids,” said Campbell.
“So the Lumina Foundation just gave us a grant to support 25 tribal adults
in attending early college high schools. It’s the nation’s first model of
intergenerational higher education at high school sites, and what we are
excited about is that the idea came from the community members themselves.”

The adult component is only the latest in Antioch’s successes with early
college schools designed to serve tribal communities. “Our program has just
taken on a life of its own. We initially thought we were just going to set
up eight schools, and then the Gates Foundation doubled our funding: so now
we can ultimately establish 18 schools.” Between the increase in capital,
the adult pilot program and other groundbreaking ideas Campbell said are in
the works, she said, “It’s just been well received. It’s an idea whose time
has come.”