"We are very excited about the potential this school has to help students succeed in college," Dr. Saavedra said. "Most of the students here will be the first in their families to attend college, and that is one of the most important goals we can achieve as a large urban school district."

East Early College has collaborated with Houston Community College to provide dual-credit courses so that when students graduate with a high-school diploma, they also receive an associate of arts degree from Houston Community College. "The coursework is rigorous," Principal Joel Castro said. Upon graduation, an East Early College student can enter a four-year university as a junior and save more than $25,000 in tuition costs.

Ninety-six percent of the students at East Early College attended HISD middle schools in the East Region. Enrollment at East Early College totaled 100 freshman students in the first year. This year, the school has freshman and sophomore classes, each with 100 students.

"Because of the small size of the school," Castro said, "we were able to focus on individual areas of need." Castro also credited high parent involvement for the success of the school. "Parents volunteer in our office and our cafeteria, and they provide all of the transportation. The parents are totally committed to seeing their children graduate from college."

HISD East Region Superintendent Thelma Garza said Houston Community College has been a "wonderful partner" for East Early College High School. "Dr. Fena Garza, the Southeast College president, has worked so hard to unite the two programs in the first year."

Hence, it was no surprise when 99 percent of East Early College students passed the reading portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. The other area tested was math, which had a 94 percent passing rate.