Designing and Financing an Integrated Program of College Study: Lessons from the California Academy of Liberal Studies

By engaging students in up to two years of demanding college-level work while still in high school, early college high schools are testing a powerful strategy for closing the achievement gap and “doubling the numbers” of low-income youth earning a college degree. This brief examines how the California Academy for Liberal Studies, and its college partner, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, are addressing a critical design challenge: how to structure and finance an integrated sequence of college study in which students earn up to two years of transferable college credit. CALS is supported by the National Council of La Raza, an intermediary organization working to create 12 early college high schools that serve Latino communities.