The Program

Bard's Early College in New Orleans is a unique approach to Early College education, extending the academic resources of the college directly into a public high school. Bard Early College in New Orleans runs two satellite campuses of Bard College open to intellectually ambitious 11th and 12th graders from across New Orleans.

These tuition-free campuses—in New Orleans' downtown and 7th Ward—are unique in secondary and postsecondary education: Bard Early College students spend their mornings as 11th and 12th graders in conventional public high schools; after lunch, they ride a school bus to one of the Early College Centers, where they spend the afternoons as Bard students enrolled in a challenging course of study in the liberal arts and sciences. The student body includes young people from nearly every zip code in New Orleans.

Bard Early College courses are held to the high academic standards that define the rigor and quality of a Bard education. Program faculty are active and accomplished in their fields.

The Bard Early College Centers are founded in opposition to a defining trend in American higher education—that the fewest academic resources are so often placed where there is the greatest need. We believe that the opportunities for critical inquiry offered by the nation's best colleges should be available to all students who have the ambition to learn and the curiosity to engage difficult questions; our experience has shown us that high schools in New Orleans are rich with those students.

Bard Early College in New Orleans benefits from a partnership with Louisiana Delta Service Corps, an affiliate of the national Americorps program. Through this partnership, Bard Early College is able to offer individualized college guidance counseling to each of its students; to learn more about Louisiana Delta Service Corps, please visit: www.ladeltacorps.org


Download: ECNO FAQs.pdf

Program Outcomes

Detailed outcomes from the Bard Early College in New Orleans 2009-2010 academic year are outlined in the following report.
Download: Bard Early College in New Orleans 2009-2010 Report.pdf

Press

• Article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune about Bard Early College in New Orleans
• Editorial by Times-Picayune columnist Jarvis DeBerry
• Radio feature by Eve Abrams on WWNO
• Article from New Orleans Times-Picayune about Bard Early College's new campuses in New Orleans high schools: www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2011/05/bard_college_program_brings_un.html
• Commentary on BECNO in Education Week Journal: 'The Promise of Early College' (download below)