Press

• Article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune about Bard Early College in New Orleans
• Editorial by Times-Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry

The Program

Bard's Early College in New Orleans Program is a unique approach to Early College education, extending the academic resources of the college directly into a public high school.

Through partnerships with public high schools across New Orleans, the Early College Program offers tuition-free, Bard accredited coursework to ambitious high school juniors and seniors who face obstacles to higher education.  All courses are held during the school day and on the campus of the partner high school, and all courses are taught by highly qualified university faculty who are active and accomplished scholars in their fields.  Our students earn Bard College credit in writing-intensive courses in the liberal arts, strengthening the critical and analytical skills needed to succeed in higher education. 

To date, 98% of high school seniors who have earned credit through the Early College Program report having been accepted to a college or university, and all have cited their participation as a major source of motivation toward further study.

Through similar programs in New York, California, and around the country, Bard College is recognized as a national leader in Early College education.  These programs are founded in the belief that, through a more rigorous course of study than is typically available at a traditional high school, many young people can become more intellectually engaged and more academically successful.

Established in 2007, Bard's Early College in New Orleans Program has developed courses in partnership with L. E. Rabouin, G. W. Carver, Sarah T. Reed, Eleanor McMain, McDonogh #35, John McDonogh, Frederick Douglass, and Walter Cohen high schools.  Over 220 students have been enrolled to date.