When Orange High School senior Adolfo Bello received his diploma earlier this month, he was one of 22 classmates to also complete more than 45 units of college courses through the school’s Early College Academy, credits he will take with him as he heads to the University of Notre Dame in the fall.
A four-year program partnership between Orange Unified School District, Orange High School and Santiago Canyon College, the Early College Academy provides students the opportunity to graduate from high school while concurrently completing a significant amount of college-level coursework. With many of their general education requirements fulfilled, ECA students are able to enter college at a sophomore or even junior level, providing a potential savings in future tuition costs.
Bello was introduced to the ECA as an eighth grader at Yorba Middle School. When he saw what the program had to offer, it sparked his interest, and he applied ahead of starting at Orange High School.
“It’s something I knew I could challenge myself with,” Bello said. “And it was something I could gain valuable experiences from, such as preparing me for what college will be like after high school.”
Beginning his freshman year, in addition to his high school classes, Bello took college courses each semester and during summer terms — courses such as American sign language, sociology, psychology and statistics, with all required textbooks and tuition at no cost.
The ECA program got its start five years ago and is currently offered exclusively at Orange High School, a Title 1 school, and provides a path for students to consider pursuing a college education. As of this spring, the program has graduated its third cohort for a total of nearly 70 students who have achieved IGETC, or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum certification.
“You have this cohort of students where college is not a word that’s common in their households,” said Jason Parks, vice president of Academic Affairs at SCC. “So, by going there and demonstrating to students that they can be successful in college, it can change the narrative of how a student views higher education.”
As part of the ECA program, SCC professors are on Orange High’s campus each day to teach the college coursework during 1st and 2nd periods. Additionally, there are designated high school teachers who come alongside the students to mentor them and provide support.
“There’s a really tight partnership between our professors and the high school teachers, and they work hand in hand,” said Loann Tran, director of Special Programs at SCC. “The students are getting this wraparound service of academic support. So if they’re struggling, our professors can talk to their teachers to help them through this journey.”
The teamwork between the Orange High teachers and the SCC professors made a significant impact on Bello and his ability to complete the rigorous program.
“I enjoyed getting to work with a lot of amazing professors,” Bello said. “For them to be able to foster our needs and provide us the learning environment that we needed was truly beneficial. … And then the support we had from the Early College Academy mentors also motivated us. They kept boosting our self-esteem so that we wouldn’t doubt our true potential in the classes.”
Bello also completed a number of AP classes and was a member of several clubs, including National Honor Society, the Red Cross Club and Key Club. He applied to Notre Dame almost on a whim, but he was able to effectively demonstrate how his involvement in the ECA, along with his academic rigor and extracurriculars, helped him develop the skills he needed to be a strong addition to the university.
While he was also accepted to local schools such as UCLA and Chapman University, Notre Dame will be providing Bello nearly a full-ride scholarship award, so he will head to South Bend, Ind., in the fall to study cell and developmental biology. And since he will be bringing several general education credits with him, he is considering adding theology as a second major.
“I always wanted to stay in state, but then I told myself that this would be an opportunity for me to become more independent,” Bello said. “I considered, where do I see myself thriving more? Where can I see myself being the most happy and the most fruitful?”
SCC hopes to expand the ECA program in the future to provide more students with the confidence and belief that they can take that next step towards higher education. Bello and his cohort leave high school with a range of skills that set them up for success at the next level. But above all, he cherishes the bonds they share.
“It’s more than just the college credits and saving money,” Bello said. “The program helped us develop those skills of time management and organization. It was a challenge, but we were ready. … And something I’m truly grateful for is the family we became.”
