San Antonio College Partners with Brooks Academy for Early College High School Program

San Antonio College has started a new partnership with Brooks Collegiate Academy to offer students the opportunity to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time.

The SAC-Brooks Academy Early College High School (ECHS) program is an innovative way to allow students who are least likely to attend college to earn as much as 60 credit hours by the time they leave high school. In addition, the dual credit program does not incur an additional cost to students – so they can complete two years of college coursework without paying traditional college tuition.

“We offer support to these talented young students who have the drive to commit to a rigorous education. We want to give them the advantage an associate degree will offer, such as a chance to obtain a bachelor’s degree from a university in as little as two years,” said SAC President Dr. Robert Vela.

“We believe in the transformational power a college degree can have not only for a student but also for the student’s family,” he continued. “We have seen first-hand how students with a college education can have a positive effect on their community.”

SAC has established several partnerships to offer associate degrees to local high school students.

SAC collaborated with the San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) to create Travis Early College High School. Located next to SAC, Travis was recognized as a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School.

SAC also has partnered with the SAISD on two Pathways in Early College High School programs:

• The Health Care Pathways Technology Early College High School at Fox Tech High School.
• The Pathways Technology Early College High School’s School of Business at Edison High School.

And SAC is a partner with the Centers for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) schools, a network of tuition-free, industry-led, career-themed high schools in San Antonio. SAC provides dual credit classes at CAST Tech High School, housed at Fox Tech High School. CAST Tech High School students will graduate with college courses in coding, cybersecurity, gaming, and entrepreneurship.

Brooks Academies of Texas is a tuition-free public charter school district with four campuses in the San Antonio area. Serving grades K-12, each campus has a specialty embedded within its curriculum: STEM, Fine Arts, Dual-Language and a Sports Leadership and Management program.

–SAC–