Photo: Carl Stevens/WBZ RadioNews
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — More than 300 students and educators from across Massachusetts gathered at the State House Wednesday to show their support for the state's early college program.
Launched in 2017, the program helps students prepare for college by allowing them to take college-level courses while in high school, potentially earning college credits at no cost.
Erika Giampietro, head of the Massachusetts Alliance For Early College, said the program enhances a student's college and career readiness, especially for students who are under-represented in higher education. "This is explicitly, but not only for students who are from low-income homes, first-generation college goers, students who are underserved," she said.
The day included a legislative briefing on the impact of the program, as well as meetings with elected officials asking them for their support.
Giampietro said one of their goals is to make the program permanent. "It would sort of future-proof it if you will," she said. "Even with changes in leadership in the coming decades this program would stay in place and have the vision, the drive, the structures underneath it to be successful."
Melanie Aldana is a student at Mass Bay Community College.
She graduated from Framingham High School with 59 college credits. "As a low-income student, belonging in college was a big factor as well as lifting financial barriers," she said. "Early college was just a great opportunity for me."
Some 9,000 students from 62 high schools take part in the program.
WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens (@CarlWBZ) reports.