BHCC Early College Expanding to Brighton and Malden High Schools

Thursday, March 23, 2023

Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) will have two new Early College programs in 2023

As part of a nine-school expansion announced by the Healy-Driscoll Administration, Brighton High School in Boston and Malden High School will both be home to designated BHCC Early College programs. The addition brings the total number of Early College programs to 60 across the Commonwealth, with approximately 7,800 students enrolled.  

“We are so proud to be partnering with Brighton High School and Malden High School to bring Early College to those communities,” said. BHCC President Pam Eddinger. “Early College is a critical tool to improving college access and completion to students who have often been excluded from higher education. Bunker Hill created the first Early College program in the state, and we are thrilled that with these new programs, we’ll also be the largest Early College program.” 

The Massachusetts Early College program gives students the opportunity to take college courses and earn a minimum of 12 college credits at no cost before they graduate high school. Early College allows students to get a head start on their higher education and contributes to significantly higher college enrollment and completion rates, particularly for low-income, minority and first-generation college students. In 2019, approximately 76 percent of Early College students enrolled in college after graduation compared to 55 percent of their peers who did not participate in Early College. Data shows that the benefits from Early College make the biggest difference for students who are English language learners, but those benefits are still significant for students of color and students from lower economic backgrounds. 

Read more about the expansion of Early College programs in the Healy-Driscoll Administration’s announcement.