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Welcome to the Launch of the
Massachusetts Early College Initiative
Co-Sponsored by The Massachusetts Executive Office of Education, Department of Higher
Education, and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Thursday March 23, 2017
The UMass Club
Event Partners

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- Today’s Program -
Welcome
Chris Gabrieli, Chair, Board of Higher Education
MA Early College Video
Early College Students
Keynote Address Introduced by JD Chesloff, MA Business Roundtable
A Message from Governor Charlie Baker
Secretary of Education James Peyser
Early College Leadership Panel Introduced by Ben Forman, MassINC
Moderated by Nancy Hoffman, JFF
Nuri Chandler-Smith, Bunker Hill Community College
President Lane Glenn, Northern Essex Community College
Dan Riley, Marlborough High School STEM Early College
Omari Walker, New Heights Charter School
Policy Leadership Panel Moderated by Chad d’Entremont, Rennie Center
Senator Michael Moore,
Representative Alice Peisch,
Commissioner Mitchell Chester
Commissioner Carlos Santiago
Thank you and Call to Action
Chris Gabrieli
Margaret McKenna, Member of Board of ESE and of Early College Joint Committee

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Steering Committee
Jim Peyser, Secretary of Education
Mitchell Chester, Commissioner, Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
Carlos Santiago, Commissioner, Department of
Higher Education
Chris Gabrieli, Chair, Board of Higher Education
Paul Sagan, Chair, Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education
Leah Hamilton, Barr Foundation
Working Group
Blair Brown, David Cedrone, JD Chesloff,
Cliff Chuang, Jenny Curtin, Dianne Kelly,
Karen Hynick, Patricia A. Marshall, Philip Sisson,
and Keith Westrich

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The Challenge
This effort is motivated by a clear challenge and a shared sense of opportunity
between K-12 and Higher Ed institutions to improve postsecondary success…
The Challenge
Only 45% of MA students graduate from
HS and connect directly to
postsecondary education without need
for remediation
The Opportunity
Design and scale a set of high-quality
school models that:
1. Break down siloes between high
school and postsecondary
1. Increase postsecondary
completion, especially for
underserved youth
Definitions
• Graduate and Connect to Success: Students who graduate high school, enroll immediately in a postsecondary option (2-year or 4-year), are sufficiently prepared for
college such that they do not need to enroll in remedial/developmental education coursework, and persist into the second year of postsecondary coursework
• Graduate but Need Remediation: Students who graduate high school, enroll immediately in postsecondary, but need developmental education coursework
• Graduate but Disconnected from Higher Ed: Students who graduates high school, but do not immediately enroll in postsecondary
Source: MA DESE
Note: Low-Income is defined by the state as students who are eligible for free and reduced price lunch

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The Challenge
…particularly for underserved students where the need is most acute
100%
100%
90%
71%
65%
34%
57%
25%
44%
15%
Obtained a
Degree within
6 Years
Entering 9th
Graders in 2003-
2004
Graduate within
5 Years
Enrolled in
College
(Immediate Fall)
Non-Low-Income
Low-Income
Persistently
Enrolled in
College
Source: MA DESE DART Database

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State Goal Alignment
Research indicates that early college programs can be effective for all students,
and especially for underserved youth
Source: AIR 2014 Study
Incremental Impact in Percentage Points
of Early College Model vs. Comparison Group
All Students, regardless of Race/Income
► Several academic studies on early college
models have found that these models have a
beneficial impact on all students, making them
more likely to graduate from high school,
enroll in college, persist through, and obtain
a degree
► One of the most well-known study, conducted
by the American Institutes for Research, also
found that early college models significantly
reduced the opportunity gap (measured by
the students’ likelihood to obtain a college
degree) between low-income and non-low-
income students, and actually closed the
opportunity gap between minority students
and non-minority students
Schools included in this study:
• Were committed to serving students underrepresented in higher education
• Partnered with a higher education institution (with a jointly developed integrated academic
program with the opportunity to earn 1-2 years of transferable college credit)
• Offered a comprehensive support system for students

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A Base to Build Upon
There are already efforts across the Commonwealth that
can be built upon to reach the state’s goals…
Source: Community College Survey; Interviews with Schools, Superintendents, Community College CAOs; Jobs for the Future
Six MA community colleges
offer “Gateway to College”
which engages at-risk students
with on-campus community
college courses to earn a HS
diploma and significant college
credit
Districts across MA are working
together to partner with local
colleges to offer programs that
offer college credits and college
experiences to students, such
as Pittsfield’s Positive Options
Program
Schools across the
Commonwealth are partnering
with local colleges to provide full
early college programs for small
subsets of their student body
populations
Jobs for the Future has helped
launch four programs across the
Commonwealth that link K-12,
postsecondary, and career
through a defined pathway
Gateway to College District Efforts Local School Efforts
Youth Career Connect and
Pathways to Prosperity
Public Higher Education
Institution
Gateway to College site
Early College site

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A Base to Build Upon
Leaders are aligned on specific design principles to bring greater coherence and
impact to the programs this initiative would support
From April-August 2016, a group of leaders in K-12 Education, Higher Education, and Employers, came together to define a
vision for what early college schools in the Commonwealth could look like. These model design principles reflect the group’s
consensus on what is important to make these programs effective for students
The model needs to be:
• Free to the student
• Open to all students, regardless of past academic performance
Precondition
Guided
Academic
Pathway
Enhanced
Student Support
Relevant
Connection
to Career
Equitable
Access
2
3
4
Deep
Partnerships
1
5
There are multiple formalized “on-ramps” or entry points for students to access the program (e.g., not just limited to 9th grade).
Academic and non-academic supports are provided along the way to prepare students for the academic rigor of college courses
and to succeed in a potentially new environment (college campus)
High schools and their higher education partners jointly develop an integrated academic program so that all students in the
program have the opportunity to earn, at a minimum, 12 credits of transferable college credit during the full program. The
academic program is designed for a full cohort of students to progress towards a credential with clear labor market value
Appropriate student supports are fully incorporated as a part of program design. At a minimum, this includes personalized
academic advising and tutoring oriented around the pathway to postsecondary completion, and takes into account needs of ELL
students and students with disabilities. Programs will also likely need to include non-academic supports like guidance
counseling, social-emotional supports, and financial literacy
Provides students with relevant workforce skills, exposure to career paths, and career counseling. General skills include skills
like: teamwork, communication, and interview preparation. Strong career prep focuses on experiential learning and workplace
learning (could include internships, job shadowing, and mentorship) to assist students in informed career decision-making, but
does not imply a narrowly defined vocational track or a credential awarded by a specific company
There exists a deep and sustained partnership between the K-12 district or school, the higher education partner, and employer
partner. The three work together to align curricula, structure programs and define resource sharing via MOUs, and both are
equally invested in student success (and are held accountable for student results)
Note: The leaders referenced were members of a multi-stakeholder “Working Group” established to provide ongoing guidance and input to the project. They represented DESE, DHE, the STEM Advisory Council,
School Districts, and Community Colleges. These leaders expressed agreement with the design principles above through a survey and multiple meeting sessions.

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Improved Outcomes for Reasonable Costs
While there are many potential ways to implement an early college program, such
an effort will require incremental funding at steady state
Note. The model assumes that 50% of the 720-student student body is enrolled in credit-bearing courses
Source: Interviews with Program Directors of Early College Programs
Example Early College Program (12 Credits)
Total Incremental Annual Program Costs at Steady State
This model indicates a need for additional funding in the range of $700-$900 per pupil
This is equivalent to 5%-6% of MA average per pupil funding
► All students in an early college school should
receive higher levels of support to help access
more rigorous coursework and academic
pathways
► Instructional and transportation costs reflect a
mix of students taking courses at the high
school and college campus
► The actual costs for a particular school will
vary based on:
► The percentage of students taking
college courses
► The location of these courses
► The intensity of student support
► The ability of the high school to recoup
savings in its own staff as college
course-taking rises

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State Goal Alignment
The framework of the Massachusetts Early College Initiative has several key
features
► Designation contingent on alignment
with key design principles that define
high-quality while still allowing for
flexibility/variation at the local level
Precondition: Models must be
free and open to all students,
regardless of academic
performance
Equitable Access
Guided Academic Pathway
Enhanced Student Support
Relevant Connection to Career
Deep K-12/HE Partnerships
Create a state-authorized Early
College designation
► Target scale is up to 4,000
underserved students per high school
grade cohort in MA or 16,000 across
all high school grades (out of
~280,000 high school students)
Provide additional funding
linked to measuring outcomes
Seek meaningful scale
and impact across the state
► Through a standing grant committee
and designation process, schools
would receive additional assistance
Planning Grants
and Start-up Funds
Ongoing Funding
at $700-$900 per pupil
Technical Assistance (Learning
Community, Leading Practices)
Performance Contracts
(ongoing funding contingent on
meeting performance goals)
Large enough scale to have a
direct and significant effect on key
student outcomes
At the same time, capped in size
to support ongoing gathering of
evidence on effectiveness
before scaling initiative further
1 2 3
This initiative could leverage
investments already made by the
state in MassTransfer pathways
(seamless transition from 2-year to
4-year colleges). Extending the
pathways into high schools could
give students easy access to
meaningful pathways that result in
transferable credits at colleges
around the state

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State Goal Alignment
This initiative can become a substantial part of meeting statewide goals
Source: DESE; DHE Vision Project Report
10,000
Additional
completions
annually
2,000
Goal 1: Raise Overall Completion Levels
“Example
State Goal”
Potential Early
College Impact
20%
Goal 2: Address the Opportunity Gap
“Example
State Goal”
40%3,500
Additional
completions
among
underserved
students 1,500
10,000 is the number of
additional completions
needed to satisfy DHE’s
Vision Report goal of
ensuring that 60% of
residents aged 25-34
obtain a postsecondary
credential
3,500 more completions
would double the number of
underserved students with a
postsecondary credential,
significantly reducing the
state’s Opportunity Gap
Potential Early
College Impact
► State leaders believe that over time we can increase enrollment in high-quality early colleges by 4,000 students per grade
► Effective implementation could achieve 20% of a statewide completion goal, and 40% of an opportunity gap goal

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Early College Designation Timeline
DHE/DESE-led Activities
Policy/Regulatory
(Boards)
Initiative Execution
January 2017
January 24, 2017:
BESE/BHE pass joint
EC Motion
► Established 5 member
ECJC to oversee the
development of a
process for designating
EC HQ CP programs,
authorized a
design/review process,
and empowered
Departments to conduct
such a process
► Approved 5 guiding
principles for EC HQ
CP programs.
February-June 2017
► EC working group develops
designation application
process
► Contemplate planning grants
for awards in FY18
By June 30, 2017:
BESE/BHE meet and
approve proposed
EC designation process
Release RFP and Solicit
Applications (both Higher
Ed and K-12)
September 2017-March
2018
Fall 2017
Designation
applications
Parts A due for initial
cohort, response to
RFP for initial planning
dollars due
October 2017-
January 2018
► ESE/DHE review and
vetting process
► Exploring and leveraging
funding opportunities
August/September
2018
First designated EC
programs launch
Program Planning
March-September 2018
April 12, 2017 and
early June 2017:
ECJC reviews
working committee
draft materials
Informational
sessions/technical
assistance
May 2017
► EC Working Group seeks
stakeholder input into
draft designation
application process
Early 2018
Designation
applications
Parts B due
for initial
cohort

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State Goal Alignment
Improved Outcomes for Reasonable
Costs
A Base to Build Upon
Massachusetts
Early College
Initiative