HOUSTON – May 2, 2016 – The Texas Education Agency has awarded an Early College High School Demonstration Site Grant to Spring ISD’s Early College Academy. The academy was one of only 13 schools in the state to receive the grant, which provides financial and technical support to high-performing ECHS campuses that are implementing best practices.

The academy will serve as a demonstration site during the grant period – April 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017 – providing technical assistance, mentoring, webinars and open house opportunities to new and prospective ECHS school leaders while sharing best-practices content through the ECHS website and at regional and statewide conferences.

To be eligible, campuses were required to have been a designated ECHS with the Texas Education Agency for at least four years, have had a class of students graduate, and be exemplary in at least three areas of the ECHS Blueprint.

The Spring ISD Early College Academy opened in August 2011 through a partnership between Spring ISD and Lone Star College – North Harris. The academy offers students – grades 9-12 – a rigorous and supportive academic program of study that blends high school and college work with the goal being that students will graduate with a Distinguished High School Diploma and an associate degree or 60 college credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree. It is an opportunity for students, who may not otherwise consider attending college, to earn 12 to 60 college hours free of charge.

For more information about Spring ISD Early College go to earlycollege.springisd.org. To learn more about early college high schools, visit the Texas Education Agency website at tea.texas.gov/curriculum/echs/.