Newsletter

Site Accomplisments

In 2007-2008, the ten Early Colleges in CNE’s network achieved amazing results. The list of accomplishments could fill up several dozen pages; some highlights are listed below.

• 100% of the 15 Tulalip Heritage Early College students graduating this year earned transferable college credits. The number of college credits ranged from 5 to 35 credits. Additionally, 74% passed Washington’s WASL’s reading and writing tests. Kudos to Tulalip, the nation’s first reservation-based early college.
  
  
• 100% of Klamath River Early College of the Redwoods’ 10th grade students passed both sections of the California High School Exit Exam on the first try. Geneva Wiki, among other awards this year was selected as the University of Oregon’s outstanding alumni.
  
  
• This spring, Suquamish Tribe’s Early College began offering college courses in English and Basic Computers, even beforethe school opened as a full-day Early College. Current plans are to open a full-day school in September.
  
  
• 95% of La Conner’s Lop Che Ahl Early College 9th grade students passed a college study skills course earning college credit for their efforts. The school also received a College Spark grant that allows them to fund student support services called Tall Cedars for grades 6 – 14 students.
  
  
• 100% of the 14 Medicine Wheel Academy students who enrolled in Spokane Falls Community College’s Psychology 101 course passed the course and received transferable college credit for doing so.
  
  
• All of Effie Kokrine Early College Charter School’s graduating seniors earned college credit; two students received 63 college credits each. 99% of the school’s graduates passed the Alaska High School Qualifying Exit Exam. Two graduates received $11,000 UA Scholars Program scholarships.

• Walatowa High Charter School successfully completed its planning year and will officially open as an Early College in September with as many as seven college courses. The Pueblo of Jemez, school, and University of New Mexico leaders signed a historic MOU, solidifying a tri-partite governance structure.
  
  
• Shelton’s Early College continued to provide college campus experiences and courses to students even though they transitioned from EC grant funding. The Native Advisory Committee has grown tremendously in size. Olympic College Shelton was featured in a Lumina Focus article this year for integrating adults and adolescents into college courses.
  
  
• 100% of Siletz Valley Early College Academy’s students took the Oregon State Assessment test this year. 61% met requirements in math, 72% met in science and 77% met in reading. Additionally, SVECA opened its doors to the community and hosted a community youth center, tribal cultural and sporting events, and student employment programs onsite.
  
  
• During its pilot year, NAYA Early College Academy may be the first early college in the national network to open its doors and simultaneously purchase a school building.

CNE's Summer Plans

While the 2007-2008 school year is winding down, the CNE staff are already busy preparing for 2008-2009.

This summer, CNE staff will travel throughout Indian Country to promote Early College and highlight the amazing results your students and schools are realizing.  CNE team members will present the Early College model and results-to-date at several national events, including NCAI’s mid-year conference in Reno, NV, the “Conference on American Indian Dropout Crisis in the Northwest” in Seattle, WA, and OIE’s “Partnership for Indian Education” workshop in Rapid City, SD. Two new sites will also be visited and invited to join our network.

CNE’s leadership will continue its work to secure non-profit status. This shift to autonomy from Antioch will allow CNE to secure funding from a wider array of organizations. We will also be able to host future CNE events in more comfortable facilities, and will have more time and resources to dedicate to site needs.

The CNE’s technical assistance team will continue developing technical assistance tools for all of the sites in the network. Additionally, staff will remodel and update the website. Please see new tools, resources, and links available in the CNE’s online resources section found here. Take a look!

Mid-summer, team members will prepare Early College back-to-school packages for each site in the network. These packets will include semi-annual CNE contracts, back-to-school media tools, marketing materials, photo releases, and other resources to jumpstart EC work for the 2008-09 school year. These packages will arrive in mid-August.

The Making College the Norm (MCN) initiative will begin its pilot phase in the fall. This summer, CNE staff will refine the middle and high school college orientation curriculum. The lessons, along with a student survey, will be ready for implementation at the beginning of the school year. CNE staff are also developing a MCN – Postsecondary Partners’ Guide to Early College that will be finalized in the spring of 2009.  For more information about Making College the Norm, the college orientation curriculum, or the handbook, contact Sally Chapman, our postsecondary coordinator, at schapman@antiochseattle.edu.

CNE Consortium Update

The CNE is proud to announce the next phase in the implementation of our consortium.

Background. The CNE consortium was informally founded in 2002. The consortium’s members include all sites in our national network of schools. New sites become consortium members when they are awarded CNE Early College funds; sites renew their memberships annually by signing consortium contracts and participating in CNE events and other Early College efforts.

Purpose. The overall purpose of the consortium is to support its sites and move the national Early College movement for Native Youth forward.

Consortium’s Next Phase. At the CNE’s May 10th Design Day, participants and CNE staff met to discuss the next more formalized phase of the consortium. Participants and staff discussed the following next steps:

• The consortium’s secondary, postsecondary, and tribal task forces will continue meeting. One representative per EC will serve on each task force. The task forces will give input into CNE events, participate in professional development events, and assist with other EC business as needed.
• A new group that will begin meeting in the fall is the National EC Advisory Panel, or NECAP. Representatives from veteran sites (sites that have transitioned from EC funding) will participate in the group for two years each. This group will help select new ECs to join the CNE’s national network, serve as advisors to the CNE and sites, address policy issues, and conduct peer to peer site visits among network schools.
• Another new group that will begin meeting is the EC Student Panel, or ESP. The student panel will add student voice and perspectives to the consortium and promote ECs through presentations, professional development, and other events. The panel will also assist with an alumni association.

For more information on the CNE consortium, to review the by-laws and goals, go to the Consortium section of the CNE website here.

Notes from May 10th Design Day consortium discussion are posted on the CNE’s website. To view the notes, go to the Resources for Network Schools section and look under the CNE consortium heading. Also, contact Micki Evans, the CNE’s coach and consortium liaison at mevans@antiochseattle.edu.