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April 21, 2009 issue
EMU, Washtenaw Intermediate School District partnership receives $300,000


By Ward Mullens

 

The Early College Alliance (ECA), a collaboration between Eastern Michigan University, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and four local school districts, has received a $300,000 grant from the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation (AAACF) Board of Trustees as part of Pfizer's $1 million gift to the community.

"This money will be used to help leverage public and private resources to provide more students with more post-secondary opportunities," said David Dugger, coordinator of ECA.

ECA logo

ECA FUNDING: The Early College Alliance, a
collaboration between Eastern Michigan University
the Washtenaw Intermediate School District and four
local school districts, has received a $300,000 grant
that will provide more high school students with
post-secondary opportunities. The ECA currently
serves 400 students on EMU's campus.

The ECA integrates high school and early college curriculum, and provides personalized support to students in a way that allows them to complete high school with considerable college work finished and paid for.

The new funding will allow ECA to expand its program to serve more students and to introduce a new curriculum strand focused on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (the STEM fields). This grant also will help support a restructuring of Ypsilanti High School's curriculum to provide a successful track for Ypsilanti students to enter the ECA.

The ECA currently serves 400 students, many from families without a history of college completion, on Eastern Michigan's campus. Ypsilanti, Lincoln, Milan and Whitmore Lake are school districts that are partners in ECA.

The grant represents the final allocation of the $1 million gift Pfizer entrusted to the AAACF in January 2008 to give back to the Ann Arbor area community.