FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  October 2024

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – Bard Early College is pleased to announce it has received a $1.5 million grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to support two new early college campuses in New York City. The philanthropic grant will support Bard Early College’s ambitious expansion of access to early college education as it ramps up enrollment at these two new campuses.

With the opening of Bard High School Early College Bronx and Bard High School Early College Brooklyn, Bard Early College (BEC) has doubled their NYC footprint in the last two years.  The former opened in September of 2023; the latter in September of 2024. Both of these new schools reflect a strong commitment to access for historically underrepresented students. More than 80% of seats at both schools are reserved for their immediate communities: respectively, the South Bronx and the Ocean Hill-Brownsville and East New York neighborhoods.

“We are delighted by the partnership and support of Carnegie Corporation of New York at this very exciting time in our early college expansion in New York City,” said Dumaine Williams, Vice President and Dean of the Early Colleges. “This generous grant will help sustain the established Bard Early College campuses (in Manhattan and Queens) and provide much needed support as we scale the model by launching the newer campuses in the Bronx and Brooklyn.”

For Bard Early College students, the high school experience has been completely redesigned: the 9th and 10th grades are immersive college preparation, and the 11th and 12th grades are the first two years of full-time college study. More than 80% of faculty hold terminal degrees in their fields. Additionally, at every BEC program, students take courses that promote civic engagement and students are encouraged to make direct connections between their lived experiences, the communities they live in, and their coursework. 

Student success at Bard Early College High schools has been amply demonstrated in NYC and ten campuses nationwide. BEC graduates who are first generation college students enroll in college at a much higher rate than the national average (79% compared to 58% nationally). Moreover, BEC graduates go on to complete college at significantly higher rates than their peers. A matched pair analysis by Metis Associates found that Black students that attended BHSEC were 39% more likely to complete a BA than their academically and socioeconomically matched peers in traditional NYC high schools.

As these two new schools open their doors, the Carnegie grant will enable Bard Early College to build robust, supportive, and academically excellent academic programs as these two schools grow towards their full capacity of 500 students each.                         

Bard College President Leon Bostein with Dame Louise Richardson, President of the Carnegie Corporation, visiting Bard High School Early College Manhattan. Photo credit: Filip Wolak

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About Bard Early College

Bard Early College is a division of Bard College, a leading non-profit college of the liberal arts and sciences. Bard is renowned for innovation in the public interest, leading nationally recognized undergraduate programs for nontraditional students, including those who are incarcerated, adult learners, and students in urban high school systems.

Bard Early College is one undergraduate organization distributed across ten sites – Manhattan, Queens, Newark, New Orleans, Cleveland, Baltimore, Hudson Valley, Washington D.C, the Bronx, and Brooklyn – with over 3,300 students and 250 faculty. Bard Early College fundamentally rethinks the connection between high school and college. BEC directly links the two by replacing the last two years of traditional high school with a tuition-free and rigorous immersion in college study. Students receive up to 60 college credits and an Associate in Arts degree from Bard College, alongside a high school diploma.

All BEC programs are built around these core components: seminar-style course offerings in the social sciences, arts, humanities, sciences, mathematics, languages and literature; offering 60 transferable credits, the Bard College AA degree, and extensive guidance in postsecondary options and credit transfer; specialized advising to bridge students to the workforce and/or additional academic opportunities upon completion of the AA degree; robust student support structures that attend to academic, social, and developmental needs 

Learn more about Bard Early College at: bhsec.bard.edu.

About Bard College

Founded in 1860, Bard College is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences located 90 miles north of New York City on the east bank of the Hudson River. It offers bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, and bachelor of music degrees, with concentrations in more than 40 academic programs; graduate degrees in 11 programs; 9 early colleges; and numerous dual-degree programs nationally and internationally. Building on a 150-year history as a competitive and innovative undergraduate institution, Bard College’s mission as a private institution acting in the public interest has expanded across the country and around the world to meet broader student needs and increase access to the liberal arts education The undergraduate program at our main campus in the Hudson River Valley of upstate New York retains a reputation for scholarly excellence, a focus on the arts, and civic engagement. Bard is committed to enriching culture, public life, and democratic discourse by training tomorrow’s thought leaders. 

About Carnegie Corporation of New York

Carnegie Corporation of New York was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Today the foundation works to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for the issues that Carnegie considered most important: education, democracy, and peace.

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