Mission Early College High School
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Mission Early College High School is a new high school in El Paso, Texas.
MECHS, as it is known to its students, is a one-of-a-kind school in its region, combining the normal Texas Education Agency curriculum with that of the El Paso Community College. Students at Mission Early College High School are both high school and college students. Like other early college high schools in the nation, students can leave the college with an associate’s degree or sufficient college credit to enter a four-year university as a junior.
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[edit] Introduction
Mission Early College High School is a collaboration between El Paso Community College, Socorro Independent School District and the Texas High School Project of the Communities Foundation of Texas. Mission Early College High School opened in 2006 to prepare for the 2006-2007 school year. This unique school is founded on the belief that many young people are ready and eager to do serious college work. It enables highly motivated students to move in four years from the ninth grade through the first two years of college, earning the associate of arts (A.A.) degree.
Mission Early College High School has only 125 slots per grade level and thus is very selective. On its first selection, there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 applicants… only 125 were accepted. Every school year only 125 more students will be accepted into the freshman year. Of its second selection, there were about 500 applicants of which the 125 students of that year were selected.
[edit] Mission Early College’s Vision
Mission Early College High school is “founded on the belief that many young people are ready and eager to do serious college work.” With this vision in mind, MECHS students are taught at a rigorous college level and treated as an adult.
In order to work on this vision, Mission Early College High School boasts some of the best educators in the region. All of the educators at MECHS have a master’s degree (some working on their second master’s) and most are credentialed to teach at the college level. All of the MECHS teachers are caring and capable of enriching their students’ future and have been very successful in their own life.
[edit] Successes
During only its first year, Mission Early College High School's students and various organizations have been very successful:
Its BPA, which consisted of only freshmen students at the time, had multiple members take places in the regional competition against mostly upperclassmen from other schools in the area. Those who placed high enough were able to attend the state BPA competition which was held in Corpus Christi.
On the Texas Assessment of Knoledge and Skills, or TAKS, 100% of the student population at MECHS successfully passed math portion of the test, with many students receiving commended performance marks. Only five students out of the entire school failed to pass the English portion of the test as well. The impressive scores allowed Mission Early College High School to receive the honour of being ranked exemplary.
Four teams of four-to-five students each competed in the Science Bowl hosted at New Mexico State University, where team "Porcupinecones" which consisted of Robert Vina-Marufo, Armando Garcia, Jonathan Fernadez, and Daniel Quiroga, placed first and had the opportunity to attend the National Science Bowl, held in the capitol of the country. The team is currently preparing for the upcoming year's Science Bowl and meets regularly.
A number of the students were also published in the local El Paso Community College's annual "Chrysallis" book, showcasing poetry and other compositions and essays.
At the local UIL competition, one freshman student, Martin Gonzalez, placed second in the Ready Writing category competing against upperclassmen, and was able to participate in the regional competition held in Lubbock, Texas. He was the only student from the school to qualify to go to the regional competition.
[edit] Requisites
Students in the Socorro Independent School District must fill some requisites to be selected into the school:
[edit] Eligibility
- Potential students must possess a good discipline record
- Students should exhibit a sincere interest in academics and be prepared to fit into an adult environment
- Student should exhibit a sincere willingness to work hard to meet the high standards of Mission Early College High School
- Incoming high school 9th grade students who reside in the Socorro Independent School District are eligible to apply
[edit] Requirements
- Students should have a minimum average of 80 during the student’s 8th grade core subjects
- 80 average in English, math, science, and social studies
- Students must meet the minimum requirements on the 8th grade mandated Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills
- Applying students must be in compliance with the state attendance policy.
Those students interested in the program must fill out an application provided by their middle-school counselor, have a teacher fill out the letter of recommendation, and go through the whole selection process. Due to the limited number of slots (125), students are urged to attend the school only if they truly have a desire to.
[edit] Innovative Programs
Mission Early College High School was build with the purpose of being innovative in the area of academics and learning. This purpose has certainly been kept in many ways. Currently, there is a brand new, innovative organization that was created in MECHS for the purpose of furthering academic progress and the experience of early college schooling.
[edit] IAE- Initiative for the Advancement of Education
IAE, or Initiative for the Advancement of Education, is a program started at Mission Early College High School with a very important philosophy: to "expand the abilities of Mission Early College High School to have the best quality education through technology, student-teacher interaction, community interaction, innovative programs, and professional-student interactions." The mission of this groups is to better prepare the school to impart a better education on current and future students.
A group of three students, Fernando Delgado, Robert Viña-Marrufo, and Armando Garcia started this school program during Christmas of 2006, while they were discussing ways in which they believed they could improve education at MECHS. Ever since then, they have been working, further developing, and starting innovative activities that are surefire ways of giving students the best education possible. Fernando, chairman of the new initiative, sees this new program as "a program that will soon expand throughout the nation to help students ... achieve greatness" and thinks that "we (MECHS) started something big and it will be for the better of education." Robert, who is Chancellor of Academic Affairs, or Vice-Chairman, sees this program as a "great new way to advance the way students in the school, the district, the city, and maybe the whole nation will be learning. This program will be just what's called for in these days of a demanding business-world where everyone is expected to think outside the box and take risks, or otherwise lose your job." Members of the program have stated that "if we can help even a few students, we have fulfilled our purpose; if we can help hundreds, we will be delighted and glad to immense degrees."
New programs and activities are currently being devised by IAE, including some summer career-shadowing with professionals in the city; Dr. Aguirre, the principal of MECHS, is very excited and enthusiastic about this student-started program.
