Bard High School Early College

Admissions

Applicants must maintain a B letter grade of 85 percent or higher to be considered. Bard has its own academic standards, and if a student meets them, they will be called to a one-on-one interview. In advance of their opening in the Bronx, the school's admissions and diversity practices were called into question. This had been an issue in D.C., including addressing the city's brain drain.

History

Founded in 2001 as a partnership of the New York City Department of Education and Bard College and funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bard High School Early College Manhattan was the first public Bard Early College with other foundations following. But the early college model and many of the teaching philosophies employed at the Bard Early Colleges were primarily developed at Bard College at Simon's Rock, the oldest early college entrance program and only accredited four-year early college to date.

BHSEC Manhattan was the first school in the Gates Foundation's Early College High School Initiative, which aims to improve education in the U.S. by introducing smaller public high schools that help remove barriers to college education by offering students a college education in a high school setting.

As of 2023, over 4,000 A.A. degrees have been awarded at BHSEC campuses. The schools have a 98% high school graduation rate and a 95% A.A. degree attainment rate. Many BHSEC graduates transfer their 60+ college credits to another college or university and finish their Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in two more years; others opt to study for three or four years in their subsequent institutions.

School structure

By the end of their time at a BHSEC program, students have the ability to earn up to 60 Bard College credits.

High school (9th & 10th grades)

In the BHSEC program, students spend what is traditionally ninth and tenth grade finishing the bulk of their high school work. Students are encouraged to take all required state testing by the end of 10th grade, when possible – in New York City, students take the five Regents exams required for the High School Regents diploma, which they receive in addition to the Associates of Arts degree from Bard College.

Early College Program (11th & 12th grades)

The two years spent in the college program are called "Year 1" and "Year 2". As a college program, students may select their courses based primarily on their academic interests and preferences for certain professors, but they must also meet the college program's core requirements.

Campuses

Bard High School Early Colleges (4-year)

• Bard High School Early College Bronx
• Bard High School Early College Manhattan
• Bard High School Early College Queens
• Bard High School Early College Newark
• Bard High School Early College Cleveland
• Bard High School Early College Baltimore
• Bard High School Early College DC
• Bard High School Early College Brooklyn

Other Bard Early College programs (Half-day)

• Bard Early College New Orleans
• Bard Early College at the Harlem Children's Zone
• Bard Early College Hudson

Recognition

In 2009, President Barack Obama singled out BHSEC as the model for the future in his Centennial Speech to the NAACP:

We also have to explore innovative approaches such as those being pursued here in New York City; innovations like Bard High School Early College and Medgar Evers College Preparatory School that are challenging students to complete high school and earn a free associate's degree or college credit in just four years.

Notable alumni

• Audrey Gelman
• Henry Kessler
• Alex Muyl

References

References

1. Relations, Bard Public. "Bard High School Early College Opens Its Bronx Campus".
2. DeRuy, Emily. (2016-12-07). "Where Students Get Two Years of College in High School for Free".
3. Zimmerman, Alex. (2019-11-19). "Selective Bard High School wants to open in the Bronx, but it may have to rethink its admissions policy".
4. Moran, Catherine Douglas. (2018-10-31). "Plans for Bard's early college school prompt questions about impact, location".
5. Spencer, Kyle. (2013-04-09). "Rigorous Schools Put College Dreams Into Practice".
6. Relations, Bard Public. "Bard High School Early College Opens Its Bronx Campus".
7. D'Orio, Wayne. (2022-03-22). "Bringing College into High Schools".
8. Dieterle, Marcus. (2021-08-12). "Bard Baltimore receives $1.5M from Bloomberg Philanthropies for early college education for high school students".
9. Stein, Perry. (2019-08-26). "D.C. kicks off the school year with a new school — and more choices". Washington Post.
10. (17 July 2009). "Remarks by the President to the NAACP Centennial Convention 07/16/2009".