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Middle College and Early College Program Overview and Criteria

MCPS and Montgomery College (MC) have partnered to provide Dual Enrollment opportunities to college ready students from all MCPS high schools. These opportunities include Middle and Early College program options.  Middle College programs are housed on the high school campus at the following locations:  Clarksburg (PTECH), Northwest, and Northwood high schools.  Early College programs are housed exclusively on the MC Campus.  Both Middle and Early College programs provide participating students the opportunity of earning their Maryland State High School Diploma while simultaneously earning credits towards an Associate Degree in a specific content area from MC.  However, the structure and eligibility criteria for each vary slightly.

Middle College

Students in the Middle College program earn college credit through a combination of options including the College Board Advanced Placement test scores, College-Level Examination Program examinations, and/or MC courses for which they qualify and successfully complete.  Students are supported through a progressive transition from a traditional high school experience to a college-like experience on the high school campus, and finally to full college coursework and experience on the college campus.

Student interest is the main criteria for all Middle College programs. Previously, access has been open to all rising Grade 9 students whose home high school is either Clarksburg, Northwest, or Northwood based on the specific program location. Clarksburg’s PTECH program was open to students from surrounding schools in the fall of 2017.  In the fall of 2018, the Middle College programs at Northwest and Northwood high schools expanded access to students whose home schools are within their respective regions.  As a result, limited seats are made available for each program to interested rising Grade 9 students from schools as noted below:

• Clarksburg, Damascus, Seneca Valley, and Watkins Mill  
• Northwood, Bethesda-Chevy Chase, Montgomery Blair, James Hubert Blake,
  Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Walter Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Paint Branch, Richard Montgomery, Rockville, Sherwood, Springbrook, Wheaton, Walt Whitman,
  and Thomas S. Wootton
• Northwest, Clarksburg, Damascus, Gaithersburg, Col. Zadok Magruder, Northwest, Poolesville, Quince Orchard, Seneca Valley, and Watkins Mill   

If there is more interest than seats for either program, a lottery is conducted.

Early College

Early College programs are open to rising Grade 11 students throughout the school district.  Students are enrolled full time at MC and take all college courses on the MC campus during Grades 11 and 12.  Students are supported by dedicated Early College program staff and have access to all MC services and academic supports.  Students remain connected to their home school counselor, and may participate in all home high school extracurricular activities.  

To participate in the Early College program, students must (at least) meet the following criteria:

• Be enrolled in Grade 10 at a MCPS high school during the current school year;
• Passed mathematics and English state assessments;
• Have an unweighted GPA of 2.75 or higher;  
• Met or be near completion of required student service learning hours; and
• Completed all required interest and application forms.

Additional MC requirements related to college readiness specific to course and/or degree programs must also be met before final acceptance into the Early College program.  If there are more qualified students than available seats, a lottery is conducted.

Communication to Community about Middle College and Early College Programs

Community members are informed about each program through a variety of mechanisms.  Parents and students are specifically targeted and information shared throughout the year regarding Middle College program and Early College program opportunity and access.  Information is shared via:

• Dedicated dual enrollment webpage on the MCPS website;

• Program information on the schools’ website;
• Presentations at various districtwide community and association meetings, parent academies, and television segments produced by MCPS TV;
• Meetings at feeder middle schools with students, counselors, and parents;
• Mailings to all Grade 8 families and all Grade 10 families who meet the initial eligibility requirements for each program via U.S. mail;
• MCPS parent portal;
• MCPS Connect Ed, and
• Parent orientations and information sessions held at each high school and at each MC college campus.

Middle College and Early College Program Demographic and Associated Home Schools

Currently there are a total of 326 students participating in the Middle and Early College programs.  Enrollment data and students demographics associated with the programs are listed in Table 1. Data regarding original high school home schools are noted in Table 2.

Table 1 — Student Demographic Data of Current Middle College and Early College Programs as of 12-17-18
Programs	Current Degree options	9	10	11	12	Total Enroll-ments	FARMS	Non-FARMS	Females	Males	Asian	Black/African American	Hispanic	Two or More Races	White
PTECH at Clarksburg	AAS, Network and Information Technologies	61 (100%)	n/a	n/a	n/a	61	16 (26%)	45 (74%)	20 (33%)	41 (67%)	16 (26%)	20 (33%)	14 (23%)	4 (7%)	7 (11%)
Middle College at Northwest	AA, Engineering	20 (33%)	18 (30%)	14 (23%)	9 (15%)	61	10 (16%)	51 (84%)	19 (31%)	42 (69%)	21 (34%)	15 (25%)	6 (10%)	3 (5%)	16 (26%)
Middle College at Northwood	AA, General Studies (STEM, HACL, SSHA, INTG)*	83 (52%)	43 (27%)	21 (13%)	13 (8%)	160	50 (31%)	110 (69%)	106 (66%)	54 (34%)	19 (12%)	40 (25%)	51 (32%)	5 (3%)	45 (28%)
Early College on MC Rockville Campus	AS, Mathematics track program AAT, Secondary Math	n/a	n/a	44 (100%)	n/a	44	9 (20%)	35 (80%)	16 (36%)	28 (64%)	8 (18%)	11 (25%)	5 (11%)	3 (7%)	17 (39%)
Totals (% of total enrollment)	5 Degree Options	164 (50%)	61 (19%)	79 (24%)	22 (7%)	326	85 (26%)	241 (74%)	161 (49%)	165 (51%)	64 (20%)	86 (26%)	76 (23%)	15 (5%)	85 (26%)

*General Studies core options:

• STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics      AAS –– Associate of Applied Science
• HACL — Humanities, Arts, Communication, and Languages          AA –– Associate of Arts
• SSHA — Social Sciences and Health Administration                      AS –– Associate of Science
• INTG — Integrated Studies                                                              AAT –– Associate of Arts in Teaching

Table 2 — Home School of Students Currently Enrolled in Middle and Early College Programs 2018–2019
#	Home High School by Program	PTECH at Clarksburg	Middle College at Northwest	Middle College at Northwood	Early College on MC Rockville Campus	Total
1	Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School				2	2
2	Montgomery Blair High School				2	2
3	James Hubert Blake High School				2	2
4	Winston Churchill High School				2	2
5	Clarksburg High School	42			5	47
6	Damascus High School	3			1	4
7	Albert Einstein High School				0	0
8	Gaithersburg High School				2	2
9	Walter Johnson High School				1	1
10	John F. Kennedy High School				0	0
11	Col. Zadok Magruder High School				1	1
12	Richard Montgomery High School				2	2
13	Northwest High School		61		1	62
14	Northwood High School			160	0	160
15	Paint Branch High School				2	2
16	Poolesville High School				4	4
17	Quince Orchard High School				0	0
18	Rockville High School				6	6
19	Seneca Valley High School	7			1	8
20	Sherwood High School				1	1
21	Springbrook High School				1	1
22	Watkins Mill High School	9			1	1
23	Wheaton High School				1	1
24	Walt Whitman High School				1	1
25	Thomas S. Wootton High School				5	5
TOTAL		61	61	160	44	326