Middle College Program

The Middle College Program is a high school alternative program first established in New York. It is a collaboration between a high school district and a community college for high school students who desire a more independent learning environment. Students take a combination of core high school courses and college courses to receive their diploma and graduate. Although students are required to take courses to fulfill their academic requirements, the students have a choice of a variety of classes to fulfill said requirements. Students are allowed to attribute the college credits earned in middle college toward their future college career after they graduate and they are also allowed to combine those together. The core classes are provided by teachers employed by the high school district while all the college courses are taken with real college students at the community college. Many of the middle colleges in the United States today are funded by various organizations, such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with the high school district themselves. There are many that have been established across the United States.

History of the Middle College Program

The first Middle College Program began as a charter high school at LaGuardia Community College. It opened in 1974 as an alternative high school under the joint auspices of the New York City Board of Education and LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York. It was funded by grants from the Carnegie Corporation and the Fund for the Improvement for Post Secondary Education.

The original design for the school evolved from the work of Dr. Janet Lieberman, Professor of Psychology at LaGuardia, and a group of special educators who believed that a collaborative high school/college program could nurture the academic and psycho-social needs of at-risk urban youth with college potential.

The LaGuardia Middle College Program still exists today.

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