Hear what’s behind the innovative academic model of Tyler ISD’s Early College High School with Principal Amanda Hortman. The program not only grants high school students an associate degree but also challenges the conventional wisdom around the necessity of a college education.
Uncover the criteria that set the right candidates apart, ensuring that the school’s pioneering system continues to thrive. It’s a thought-provoking look at an educational model that may be charting a course for future generations in East Texas.
Transcript
LANDESS:
Tyler ISD’s Early College High School was recently ranked the number one high school in East Texas and in the top 600 across the country by U.S. News & World Report. How’d they do it? I’m Mike Landess. To find out, UT Tyler Radio Connects with ECHS Principal Amanda Hortman. How did you do it, Amanda?
HORTMAN:
Oh, that’s a big question. It wasn’t just me, I’ll tell you that. This started, like I said earlier, about 10, maybe 11 years ago, when the district saw that there was a need for it, because the purpose of an early college high school in the state of Texas is to provide college for those who wouldn’t go otherwise. That’s the main purpose. Of course, there’s other purposes as well, but when they saw that need and the possibility of reaching it with TJC, they hired someone, Ms. Delsena Frazier, who was my predecessor, and she actually built the program from scratch.
LANDESS:
My goodness.
HORTMAN:
Yes.
LANDESS:
And this isn’t the first time this program’s hit a number one ranking.
HORTMAN:
No, it is not, no. No, I don’t know for how long it’s been number one, but ever since I’ve known of it, it has been number one in East Texas.
LANDESS:
Wow. Give us a quick rundown on Tyler’s Early College High School — how it began and what it does.
HORTMAN:
The way it began was really with the district realizing that there was a need for it and hiring Ms. Frazier. And what it does is it allows students who may not be able to pay for college but want to go, to get their associate degree from TJC (Tyler Junior College) for free at the same time as their high school diploma. So in 4 years, they’re able to do what they usually would do in 6 years.
LANDESS:
Now, a college education and the actual value in the real world is the subject of some debate these days. There are those who submit that you don’t need a diploma to get a high-paying job these days, a college diploma. How do you respond to that?
HORTMAN:
I definitely think that this program is not for everyone. This program is for a specific type of student who does want to go to college. Most of our students end up actually getting two more years and completing a bachelor’s at the end of the day. Some don’t, some leave off with the associate, but for the most part, they are aware that there are other programs out there. We don’t hide that. If you want to do welding, if you want to do cosmetology, that’s excellent, and some of our students even finish the associate and then go do those things. For instance, we have a lot that get associate in business, and then they want to also get cosmetology or whatever it may be, so that they can use both simultaneously. And if they keep up with the TJC Promise, which is something else we can talk about, that too, can be free.
LANDESS:
Well, the TJC Promise actually works in with the Patriot Promise because The University of Texas at Tyler also has a program that fits right in with TJC.
HORTMAN:
Exactly. So, a lot of our students will go right back to TJC and get another degree or certificate, and then they will transfer over to UT Tyler. There’s lots of different ways that they can do it, but it’s not that the program is for everyone, because we don’t have what they would call “specials” quote, unquote. There’s no music, there’s no art, there’s no theater, except through TJC. So our students who are dedicated enough to get this program completed and do those things, they have that opportunity, but they have to reach out themselves and do it through TJC.
LANDESS:
And you also require community service.
HORTMAN:
We do. We do community service every year, and it builds each year that they’re in school with us. So by their final year, they need to get 10 hours. That’s also in order to keep the TJC promise.
LANDESS:
You’re developing some very well-rounded human beings. I mean, beyond just students who are going on to get a diploma. While ECHS doesn’t offer traditional high school sports or fine arts, as you pointed out, they can still do this through TJC. How does that work exactly?
HORTMAN:
Anything that TJC offers to their regular students is also offered to our students. Because they are TJC students. They actually have to apply to TJC, and they have an ID; they can do anything. So, basically, if I were to sign up and be a TJC student today, there’s probably some sports and things that I could get involved with. The very same for our students. The problem is it’s not always going to be during the day, so they might need to drive or have someone to pick them off to be able to participate in some of those events, which is also true in a regular high school in all reality. The other issue would be them just having the gumption to go when a lot of the kids are older than them.
LANDESS:
So how many students do you see in a given year?
HORTMAN:
How many students through our school ?
LANDESS:
In the program, yes.
HORTMAN:
What I can tell you is for next year we have 475.
LANDESS:
Wow, that’s a lot.
HORTMAN: Yes, it is.
LANDESS: Now, do you draw primarily from Tyler, or do you have any agreements with other school districts?
HORTMAN:
Interestingly enough, we’ve always primarily pulled from Tyler schools, and that’s where we do our recruiting and things of that sort. But this year we have over 14 other schools that have actually joined us–kids who are willing to provide their own transportation, or their parents are willing to do so. Anywhere, from places like Gorman, Bullard ISD, Arp ISD, and then some homeschooled students who have decided they want to go ahead and give public school a try if it’s at ECHS.
LANDESS:
Wow. Now I understand that you have a new structure that’s about to open up. Tell us about that.
HORTMAN:
It’s amazing. And we are more than grateful to the community for providing it for us, because we’re currently in the old Stewart building that, if you’ve been around here for a while, you know was built in the dark ages. So it definitely, it’s going to get some renovations I’ve heard. And so whoever is moving in there will be taken care of. But I do appreciate that they’ve seen our number one spot for all of these years and decided to provide us with a building that fits the students whom we’re actually serving. This building should be able to fit upward of 650 students. So if growth happens, there is a place to put them. Currently, we don’t have a place to even put our full student body. They don’t fit actually anywhere.
LANDESS:
Oh, my goodness.
HORTMAN:
The new location will obviously provide for that. The structure is just better. We don’t have to go to the restroom outside. I’m not saying that anybody goes on the ground, but they have to pass through a breezeway, kind of like the Robert E. Lee of old. So it’s just you’re not as protected from the weather. There’s a lot of issues in regard to air conditioning and plumbing and things like that, that in all reality, our students are working very, very hard for this, harder than a lot of people probably realize, because they may not have the support that other college-going students have at home. They deserve a better edifice, to be honest.
LANDESS:
Tell us a little bit more about the building. Where is it? What are some of the features?
HORTMAN:
It’s right beside what they call the “Career and Technology Center,” the CTC, on Earl Campbell Parkway. Most people probably know it as being between the CTC and True Vine.
LANDESS:
OK.
HORTMAN:
So it’s done. It fits the amount of students that I just told you. It is remarkably up-to-date, more so, actually. It’s beautiful. It has capacity for everything that we need. It even has a storm shelter that will fit, I’ve heard, 600 people.
LANDESS:
Single-story, multi-story?
HORTMAN:
No, it’s two-story. It’s two-story. Tons of storage, which we are lacking at this point as well. It’s state-of-the-art, without a doubt. It’s also close to the CTC, in case we ever had any crossover there down the road. It has been something that’s been talked about for those students who finish up early and might want to also get a certificate.
LANDESS:
Oh, interesting. Other than receiving a high ranking from a national publication — number 84 in the state of Texas, what are you most proud of in your time at Early College High School?
HORTMAN:
What I’m most proud of is that we have a school where the kids who go there may not have felt like they fit anywhere else, but at ECHS they’re at home. And I think the majority of our students would say that. It is very difficult, so they become close-knit with the teachers and with each other. They basically are like little cohorts, and they spend a lot of time together. So there’s a lot of fighting, but there’s also a lot of making up, but in general, I think that that is the neatest thing about our campus.
HORTMAN:
Also, there’s a lot of freedom because we’re teaching them to become college students, so they’re not so restricted that like they might be at one of the other high schools. It makes them feel proud of themselves, and they tend to act accordingly.
LANDESS:
As Tyler continues to grow, do you think that someday we may see an early college high school north campus, south campus, west campus?
HORTMAN:
That is an interesting question that I’ve never been asked before or thought about. I’d have to say I’m not sure. In East Texas, sports is really important. Band is really important to a lot of people, which I completely understand. This program puts that aside. It truly does. You have to decide that academics is how you want to pursue your goals in life. So if the culture changes to that point, possibly. Right now, I feel blessed that we’ve just continued to grow like we have.
LANDESS:
Maybe someday. What hasn’t the program done that you’re working to see that it does accomplish over the next few years?
HORTMAN:
That’s a good question. Well, the whole goal is for our students who start as freshmen to also graduate as seniors. We have a very good percentage who do that. Somewhere around 75% of our starting freshmen end up actually graduating as seniors, which is why we have that ranking. It’s an excellent percentage, but of course, I’d like 100. I want them all to make it. There are things outside of our control that do keep students from actually succeeding and finishing with that associate degree, but I think that there are some things in our control, and that’s what I try to work on every day.
LANDESS:
For a parent or a student listening to this interview, tell us what one has to do to be a part of Tyler ISD’s Early College High School.
HORTMAN:
Well, they have to wait a minute now because the application process opens up in January, like all the magnet schools in Tyler ISD, so they would just jump on our website at that point in time. The application pops up first, so they wouldn’t be able to miss it. Once they’ve done that, they fill out the application. It doesn’t take too terribly long. They’ll have to get a couple of references from either a teacher or someone that they know, and then they’ll be called in for an interview. We interview them. It’s about a 2-hour process of interviewing because we do have to get the right fit for our program, which is not the kids who have all A’s, but it’s also not the kid who is not going to attend school. We have to make sure that those things line up. And after that, we will let them know in early March whether they got in.
LANDESS:
Any final thoughts you’d like to share before we finish up?
HORTMAN:
I think I would really just like for everybody listening to know that this is another option. And it’s a valid, viable option for students who may be more academically minded, and that it’s not putting down any other type of high school, but just offering more options, as I said, because I think that is something that would be good for East Texas to have.
LANDESS:
Thanks for listening as UT Tyler Radio Connects with Amanda Hortman, principal of Tyler’s Early College High School. For UT Tyler Radio News, I’m Mike Landess.
(Transcripts are automatically generated and may contain phonetic spellings and other spelling and punctuation errors. Grammar errors contained in the original recording are not typically corrected.)
