Benchmark 1: Target Population

Purpose of the Target Population

The Early College High School shall serve, or include plans to scale up to serve, students in grades 9 through 12, and shall target and enroll students who are at risk of dropping out of school as defined by statute (Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.908) and the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) and who might not otherwise go to college.

Design Elements

All ECHSs must implement and meet the following requirements: 

1. The ECHS recruitment and enrollment processes shall identify, recruit, and enroll the subpopulations of at-risk students (as defined by Texas Education Code (TEC) §29.081 and PEIMS), including, but not limited to, students who have not passed two or more subjects in the foundation curriculum during a semester in the preceding or current school year, students who are of limited English proficiency, or students who have failed a state administered assessment. Enrollment decisions shall not be based on state assessment scores, discipline history, teacher recommendations, parent or student essays, minimum grade point average (GPA), or other criteria that create barriers for student enrollment.
2. The ECHS shall identify, recruit, and enroll subpopulations (in addition to those who are at risk as defined by PEIMS) that are historically underrepresented in college courses (e.g., first generation college goers, students of low socioeconomic status, English learners, and students with disabilities). The ECHS shall coordinate activities with feeder middle school(s), and higher education partner(s) shall coordinate with the ECHS to participate in recruitment activities to target promotional efforts at priority populations. Enrollment of target student populations should be representative of a district’s demographic make-up.
3. The ECHS shall clearly document recruitment and enrollment policies and practices, refining and improving them annually based on data reviews.
4. Recruitment and enrollment processes (including marketing and recruitment plans, materials, and timelines) shall include input from key stakeholders (e.g., parents, community members, higher education partners) and target student populations as described in 1 and 2 above and shall include regular activities to educate students, counselors, principals, parents, and school board and community members.
5. For any ECHS at capacity, the ECHS shall use either a performance-blind, open-access lottery system that encourages and considers applications from all students (all students have an equal opportunity for acceptance, regardless of background or academic performance) or a weighted lottery that favors students who are at risk or who are part of the targeted subpopulations for the ECHS. Districts are encouraged to standardize lottery practices across campuses implementing the Texas College and Career Readiness School Models (CCRSM).

Activities

• All products shall be published on the ECHS’s website and made available to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) upon request.
• All products shall be maintained in accordance with the local records retention policy.

Products

• Written lottery procedures (district-level or campus-level)
• Written admission policy, and enrollment application
• Written recruitment plan, including a timeline of recruitment and enrollment events, and recruitment materials for distribution at feeder middle schools and other appropriate locations in the community
• Brochures and marketing in Spanish, English, and/or other relevant language(s)
• Written communication plan for targeting identified audiences (e.g., parents, community members, school boards, higher education personnel, etc.)