Fast Track

Graduates of Ohio's Early College High Schools set a pace for early success

Ohio’s Early College High Schools are changing what it means to be a college student.

Fast Track has been awarded a 2011 Silver award for Excellence in Communications from the Council on Foundations.

They take teenagers who normally wouldn’t be considered college material — students from families without a tradition of continued education or where English is a second language, students from disadvantaged backgrounds or members of groups who are underrepresented in college — and place them in an atmosphere with strong support and high expectations. These students start taking college courses in grade 9 or 10 and earn up to 60 hours of college credit during high school.

But what happens when these young adults – most of them the first in their families to attend college – move beyond high school?

To find out, we followed up with 10 of the first ECHS graduates from Ohio. Now full-time college students, these alumni are building on the headstart they got in high school. They are making the Dean's List, handling class loads and jobs, preparing for graduate school and mentoring younger students so that they too can envision bigger futures for themselves.

We invite you to meet these graduates of Early College High Schools and learn more about how they're progressing on the fast track to success.