The Early College initiative is making higher education more accessible, affordable, and attractive for disadvantaged high school students. The power and potential of successful Early College high schools is they will demonstrate that students who have been labeled and even dismissed as "not college-going material" can in fact not only graduate from high school, but also succeed in postsecondary education.

In general, research has shown that Early College high schools may be the answer to inspiring disadvantaged students to learn more challenging material, and move on to college. Here's how the leaders, instructors, and administrators within the Early College initiative are encouraging Ohio students to succeed in higher education:

• Motivating students to pursue higher education
  Many high school students today are not engaged by high school level course work because they don't feel it's relevant to finding a "good job" after graduation. Students report they are just "going through the motions" and "not trying or paying attention" in class. Early College high schools offer students who show a passion or aptitude for a subject the opportunity to take a college-level course in that area. Since most Early College high schools are located on college campuses, students begin to feel like they're already in college, helping them imagine lives as college students and professionals.
  
• Making higher education more accessible, affordable, and attractive by bridging the divide between high school and college in a physical place
  Students are able to achieve two years of college credit at the same time they are earning a high school diploma (within four to five years of entering 9th grade). With 60 credit hours of college behind them, they need only the financial aid to cover the last two years of a college degree.
  
• Providing guidance and support to students through the first two years of college
  Guided by teachers and professors who are certified in their fields and have achieved mastery of their academic disciplines, students have the advantage of college-level experience, but the understanding and close guidance that high school teachers can provide.
  
• Demonstrating new ways of integrating levels of schooling to better serve the intellectual and developmental needs of young people
  Colleges and high schools combine their resources and facilities to offer laboratories, arts facilities such as theaters, academic support centers, information resources/libraries, and advanced technology. High school coursework integrates the independent learning, critical thinking, and research-based projects that motivate college students.

KnowledgeWorks Foundation is already seeing success in the eight Ohio Early College high schools that we fund in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Akron Early College High School, Canton Early College, Columbus Africentric Early College, Dayton Early College Academy, Lorain County Early College High School in Elyria, Metro Early College High School, Toledo Early College High School, and Youngstown Early College. These successes include:

• Ohio Early College students are already taking - and passing - college classes in all eight schools, beginning even in their freshman year.
  
• One of the newest Early College high schools is an innovative STEM school that's already receiving national attention in its first year.
  
• DECA students are also showing significantly more interest in higher education than their peers in urban public high schools, according to early research by Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
  
• Ohio's high school teachers are enjoying increased and relevant professional development.