ELYRIA — What would high school be without wedgies, prom and a steady diet of square pizza?Some would call it college.

Now, some lucky Elyria students will have the best of both worlds, minus perhaps being folded like a pretzel and shoved inside a locker.

After a two-year hiatus, the Elyria school district is ready to start letting eighth-graders begin enrolling in the Early College High School program at Lorain County Community College.

CHUCK HUMEL / CHRONICLE

Participants in the Early College High School program include (from left): Jalisa Stevens, 16; Madeline Dotson, 17; Jovon Taylor, 17; Drusilla Marshall, 17; and Mathew Marks.

The program allows students to graduate with both a high school diploma and a two-year associate’s degree from LCCC in just four years.

Elyria schools were forced to stop allowing new students to enroll in 2005 due to an $8 million reduction in funding, Elyria Schools Superintendent Paul Rigda said.

Elyria will enroll 20 students per year through 2012 in the program that offers smaller classes in a college setting.

“We’re providing more of a one-on-one atmosphere,” said Gwen Gilmore, a math teacher at Early College. “The kids who were the most challenged in the beginning have far passed their potential.”

So far, the numbers can back up Gilmore’s claim. Of the 41 students who enrolled in 2004, 34 are on target to graduate with both a high school diploma and a two-year college degree in 2008.

According to a study released by Early College administration, high school students enrolled at the LCCC campus are consistently surpassing the test scores of students in similar programs throughout the state. 

Of the entire class of 2008, 89 percent of students from Lorain County Early College tested at accelerated and advanced math and writing levels, compared with only 19 percent in Columbus and 45.5 percent in Dayton. Toledo came closest with 74 percent of the senior class placing in the advanced level.

Attending the program is free to parents, however, the school can only accommodate 100 students per year, LCCC President Roy Church said.  Potential students who are interviewed and accepted are put into a lottery and picked at random.

A conglomeration of district, state and private funding pays the estimated $8,500 per student cost, Church said.
Church said $5,500 comes from the student’s school district and $3,000 comes from state funding and grants, including funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“There are some constraints the Gates foundation puts on the program,” Church said. “We are limited to 100 students and can only accept first-generation college students.”

The program was designed to accept 50 students from the Lorain district and 50 from Elyria, but Elyria’s fiscal problems have tipped the balance and only around 20 percent of the incoming students will be from Elyria.

“We’re happy to be able to participate with 20 students,” Rigda said. “If we can find other ways to finance, we can increase our numbers. It’s hard when you’re dependent on tax dollars.”

Anyone interested in enrolling their student can contact Early College at (440) 366-7689.

Contact Ben Norris at 329-7119 or bnorris@chroniclet.com.

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