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Northwest Early College High School (NECHS) held a celebration Wednesday to commemorate the school’s opening in 2008.

“EPCC will be marking the 10^th anniversary of two of its 12 early college high schools this summer: Northwest Early College High School, in partnership with Canutillo ISD, and Transmountain Early College High School, with El Paso ISD, both opened in July 2008,” Tonie Badillo, Dean of Dual Credit and Early College High Schools (ECHS) said.

“EPCC’s early college high school initiative has provided a unique opportunity to the youth in our region to earn an associate’s degree while in high school.”

ECHS initiative is designed to allow students to simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree in four years.

School officials, via a news release said, the ECHS “must target and enroll students who are historically underrepresented in higher education, including economically disadvantaged, first-generation, English language learners and minority students.”

The ceremony –  held in the school’s grotto to honor current students, faculty and graduates – was followed by a field day at the adjacent West Side Soccer Complex.

Socorro Independent School District’s Mission Early College High School (MECHS) and Canutillo ISD’s Northwest Early College High School (NWECHS) have been nominated by the Texas Education Agency for national 2018 Blue Ribbon School honors.

For 2018, MECHS was nominated for the Exemplary High-Performing School category. The school was the first early college high school to open in the El Paso region and was previously designated as a national Blue Ribbon School in 2012.

Canutillo ISD’s Northwest Early College High School (NWECHS), also nominated in the Exemplary High-Performing category, has earned a list of accolades as the school celebrates its 10-year anniversary.

“This nomination is truly a defining moment in my career as an educator. We have made such progress here and have impacted so many student lives. I could not be more proud of the work that we do; work that could not be accomplished without the dedication of a wonderful faculty and staff”, said Tracy Speaker-Gerstheimer, Principal at Northwest Early College High School

In addition to SISD and CISDs’ nominations, the Texas Education Agency announced the nomination of 24 other Texas public schools for national 2018 Blue Ribbon Schools recognition.

“Northwest and Mission Early College High Schools continue to set the standard for early college high schools, not only in our region and the state, but nationwide.” Tonie Badillo, EPCC Dean of Dual Credit and Early College High Schools said. “We are very proud of their achievement in being named Blue Ribbon Schools nominees.”

Each nominated school has an economically disadvantaged population of 39 percent or greater.

The nominated schools must now complete a rigorous application process through the U.S. Department of Education. Announcements of the national award winners will be made in September 2018.  Schools that receive the award are recognized at the Blue Ribbon Schools awards ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Click here to learn more about the national Blue Ribbon program. 

The nominated schools in Texas (by district or charter) for 2018 include:

Exemplary High-Performing Schools

• Alief Montessori Community School – Alief Montessori Community School (Houston)
• Canutillo ISD – Northwest Early College High School
• Devers ISD – Devers Elementary School
• Houston ISD (3) – Challenge Early College High School; Debakey High School for Health Professions; East Early College High School
• La Joya ISD – Jimmy Carter Early College High School
• Mercedes ISD – Mercedes Early College
• Mumford ISD – Mumford Elementary School
• Socorro ISD – Mission Early College High School
• Valley View ISD (2) – Valley View Elementary School; Valley View South Elementary School
• Walcott ISD – Walcott Elementary School

Exemplary Achievement-Gap-Closing Schools

• Arrow Academy – Arrow Academy-Liberation Academy (Meadows Place)
• Edinburg CISD (2) – Anne L. Magee Elementary School; Hargill Elementary School
• Golden Rule Charter School – Golden Rule School-Sunnyside Campus (Dallas)
• Harlingen CISD – Dishman Elementary School
• Hidalgo ISD – J.C Kelly Elementary School
• IDEA Public Schools – IDEA Mission Academy (Mission)
• Lamar CISD – Jackson Elementary School
• Laredo ISD – J. Kawas Elementary School
• Nacogdoches ISD – Nettie Marshall Academy of Dual Language
• Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (2) – Carmen Anaya Elementary School; Cesar Chavez Elementary School
• Robstown ISD – San Pedro Elementary School

Founded in 1982, Blue Ribbon Schools is a U.S. Department of Education program that recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools where students perform at very high levels or where exemplary progress has been made toward closing achievement gaps among subpopulations while maintaining high achievement levels among all students.

The path to college is not always an easy one, but students at Northwest Early College High School (NWECHS) in the Canutillo Independent School District are well ahead of state and national averages.

NWECHS Principal Tracy Speaker-Gerstheimer emphasized the importance of having their students college-ready.

“We give a lot of attention and care to the preparation of our students for college,” Speaker-Gerstheimer said. “Many in our community don’t understand how to navigate the path to college. We are here to support the students with guidance, tutoring and give an SAT prep camp on Saturdays.”

NWECHS students averaged a total score of 1051 on the PSAT while the state mean was 970 and the nation averaged 1019 on the test.

The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) is a standardized test administered by the College Board. Approximately 3.5 million students take the PSAT/NMSQT each year.

The scores from the PSAT/NMSQT are used to determine eligibility and qualification for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

As for any eighth graders – from any district – who are interested in attending Northwest Early College High School for the 2017-18 school year, they have until January 26, 2017 to apply for admission.

Interested students and parents can click HERE  for more information.

On Wednesday, the Canutillo Independent School District announced that the Educational Results Partnership (ERP) and the Institute for Educational Productivity (IPE) selected the Northwest Early College High School as a 2015 Honor Roll School.

“We are proud to be recognized by education and business leaders in Texas as an Honor Roll school,” said Tracy Speaker, Principal of Northwest Early College High School.

She added, “Our teachers and administrators work tirelessly to keep the focus on high expectations and student academic achievement and to continuously improve our practices. This hard work and dedication is paying off for all of our students, no matter their background.”

Schools receiving this distinction from leaders in the Texas academic and business communities have demonstrated consistent high levels of student academic achievement, improvement in achievement levels over time and reduction in achievement gaps among student populations. For High Schools, the Honor Roll recognition also includes measures of college readiness.

The Honor Roll is comprised of two different awards, the “Star Schools” Award and “Scholar Schools” Award.

Star Schools are those with significant populations of socio-economically disadvantaged students that have shown a significant increase in grade-level proficiency over time. Scholar Schools are schools that are showing significant levels of academic achievement, but do not have a significant socio-economically disadvantaged student population.

“The connection between economic and educational productivity is very real and critically important,” says Charles Miller, chairman of the Institute for Productivity in Education (IPE). “Shining a light on schools that work is a great first step, but we must also learn more about their financial data if we want the biggest bang for our education buck. With accurate academic and financial data, Texas can build a system that rewards productivity by giving schools the flexibility to reallocate resources for maximum student benefit. The Honor Roll is a powerful start.”

“The American education system has a secret. Many schools are doing well … the Honor Roll proves it. Students are achieving at higher levels than anyone admits and more students than ever are succeeding when given the opportunity,” said Jim Lanich, ERP President and CEO.  “All schools, no matter what zip code they are in, can achieve this kind of success and leadership from the business community is critical to ensuring successes for all students.”

The annual Honor Roll award is made possible by support from numerous businesses and organizations including State Farm, AAA, Macy’s, Wells Fargo, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and several private foundations.  Chevron Corporation provided specific support in the creation of the STEM Honor Roll.

Northwest ECHS is one of 713 public schools in Texas to receive this honor as part of a national effort to identify higher-performing schools and highlight successful practices that improve outcomes for students.

A full list of the Honor Roll schools, districts and the STEM awardees can be found athttp://edresults.org/HonorRoll/HonorRoll?State=TX