Cal State L.A. and The Accelerated School Partner in Opening First West Coast "Woodrow Wilson High School Early College," September 2003

The Accelerated Charter High School, a new public charter high school in south Los Angeles, in partnership with California State University, Los Angeles, will be among the first four Woodrow Wilson High School Early Colleges in the nation to open this September, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation announced last Friday.

Funding for all four Woodrow Wilson High School Early Colleges is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The Accelerated Charter High School will be the only Woodrow Wilson Early College on the West Coast to begin in September. Also opening in September will be Early College high schools at Hunter College and Brooklyn College, each in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, and through Dillard University, in partnership with the New Orleans Public Schools. A total of ten schools will eventually be established in urban areas around the country.

All Woodrow Wilson schools will emphasize liberal arts coursework typical of introductory college undergraduate classes. Graduates are expected to receive significant college credit-in some cases, enough to enter college as sophomores or juniors.

Robert Weisbuch, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, said, “We want to provide students in challenged urban school districts the learning experience people associate with great small colleges, a place where each student is treated individually and encouraged to become everything that kid can grow to be through the life of the mind.”

The program also seeks to bring high school and college programs closer and encourage collaboration among high school and college faculty. While individual schools may use various models, the effort is inspired by the nationally noted Bard High School Early College, established in fall 2001 by Bard and Simon’s Rock Colleges.

“The University is very excited to be part of this unique collaborative,” said Juli Quinn, assistant professor of education in Cal State L.A.’s Charter College of Education and the faculty liaison between the University and The Accelerated School – a Los Angeles charter school that, until now has served K-8.

Pointing to Cal State L.A.’s long-standing relationship with The Accelerated School since its inception, Quinn notes “the Accelerated Charter High School, especially now as an Early College High School, is the realization of a dream that The Accelerated School co-founders Kevin Sved and Johnathan Williams have pursued to provide educational opportunities for students of the south Los Angeles community.”

Said Kevin Sved, “The mission of The Accelerated School is to prepare students for success in college and beyond. This partnership demonstrates our institutional commitment to high expectations for all students.”

CONTACT: Carol Selkin, Media Relations Director, (323) 343-3044
Margie Yu, Public Affairs Specialist, (323) 343-3047
or Kevin Sved, The Accelerated School, (323) 235-6343 x106