Career and College Promise Cooperative Innovative High School Programs
Caldwell Early College High School
Caldwell Early College High School (CECHS) is an innovative high school that was created out of a partnership between Caldwell County Schools and Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute (CCC&TI). Located on the CCC&TI campus in Hudson, Caldwell Early College High School provides a small learning community of 375 high school students with the opportunity to earn both a high school diploma and a two-year college transfer associate degree. Caldwell Early College High School focuses on preparing students for college, career, and life by providing an educational environment where students believe that educators know them, care about them, and expect them to succeed.
Rising ninth graders in Caldwell County are eligible to apply for admission, and this is the only point of entry into CECHS. Interested students should have motivation to complete a four-year college degree, commitment to a five-year, non-traditional program, and willingness to become an honors level student. The student selection process is conducted by an independent organization and ensures that the CECHS student body reflects the population of Caldwell County with regard to academic, ethnicity, geographic, and socioeconomic diversity. Caldwell Early College High School is committed to increasing the high school graduation and college going rate of Caldwell County students, with a special focus on first generation college students.
Caldwell Career Center Middle College
The Caldwell Career Center Middle College (CCCMC) offers full-day services to Caldwell County students. Emphasis is placed on the following academies: Biomedical Sciences, Engineering Technology, and Information Technology. Students will spend extensive time in the major of their choice.
Rising ninth-graders may apply for admission to Caldwell Career Center Middle College. Upon successful completion of four years, students will graduate from high school with both a strong academic foundation as well as advanced college/technical coursework. Upon graduation from this middle college, students may pursue work-based learning opportunities, an associate degree from a community college, or a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university.
Watauga Innovation Academy
The Watauga Innovation Academy (WIA) located at Watauga High School, is a "school within a school" that give students from any grade level the opportunity to earn college credit and high school credit at the same time. The WIA has partnered with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute to provide this rewarding dual credit program. Students will follow a focused pathway with a Four-Year Plan that produces a high school diploma and a college certificate and/or degree. Successful students can then transfer their credits to a community college or university and complete a further degree much quicker.