Patch: Marlborough Aims To Boost Number Of Students In College Classes
Patch by Neal McNamara — December 17, 2021
Marlborough has joined the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College, which wants a 900 percent hike in early college participation.
MARLBOROUGH, MA — Marlborough has joined a statewide coalition that is trying to increase the number of high school students taking early college classes.
Marlborough joined the Massachusetts Alliance for Early College (MAEC) on Feb. 15. The organization includes some of the state's largest school districts — Boston, Salem, Worcester — and nonprofits like the United Way and the Shah Family Foundation.
The goal: boost the number of high school students taking early college classes from the current 4,500 to over 45,000 over the next five years. This school year, about 119 Marlborough High School students are participating in early college classes, mostly through Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester.
The MAEC says it will increase participation by growing its coalition, "supporting program quality through the growth of technical assistance, resources and tools" and by lobbying for funding for early college programs.
School officials say getting students into college early increase their aptitude, and increases their likeliness to graduate from college.
"Our data shows that [early college classes] increases access to college enrollment, and as important, students persist and stay in college at higher rates as well," Superintendent Michael Bergeron said in a news release. "Early College raises the level of rigor in education, and provides considerable costs savings to students who earn college credit while still enrolled as high school students. This opportunity is transformational for our students, many who are economically disadvantaged and the first in their household to attend a college or university."