Rural Early College Network

Accelerating and supporting Early College programs for rural Indiana high schools

RECN Overview

In December of 2019, the Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning (CELL) at the University of Indianapolis was awarded a Mid-Phase EIR federal grant of $7.9 million from the US Department of Education to launch a Rural Early College Network (RECN) project. This project focuses on helping rural high schools implement high-quality, sustainable Early College programs through a system of supports, coaching, and a network approach. 

RECN's goals include the following:

  • Increase students’ college readiness and postsecondary acceptance

  • Increase students’ career readiness and opportunities

  • Increase efficiencies to build capacity for RECN schools

The Need: Indiana's Rural Student Population

Rural students often face barriers in accessing college credit opportunities during high school and the support systems that help prepare them for college. By helping rural high schools implement an Early College program, the RECN project overcomes barriers to help more rural students go to college and succeed when they get there.

  • 8th largest rural student (K-12) population in the US
  • Almost 1 in 4 students (24.2%) attend rural high schools
  • 501 students for every 1 counselor or mental health professional (2nd highest in the state)
Source: National Rural Education Association (2023). Why rural matters 2023: Centering equity and opportunity
The Power of Peer Learning

The RECN Model

RECN harnessed the power of collaboration and peer learning by designating five rural schools with endorsed Early College High Schools as mentor schools. Partner schools—schools implementing an Early College program and pursuing endorsement—were each assigned a mentor school. The first year focused on one mentor school coaching one partner school in a peer group. Five more partner schools were added (one to each group mentor-partner group) for each of the next two years to scale the size of the network sustainably, bringing the total number of schools from 10 to 20 over the course of the project.

the growth of RECN from 10 schools in year 1 to 15 schools in year 2 and 20 schools in year 3

Quads and the RECN Network

The RECN mentor-partner school groups, or "quads," were a key structure of the project, allowing school leaders to see other programs in action, learn from one another, and explore problems of practice together. In addition to the foundational quad meetings and full network meetings, RECN featured different kinds of professional development and cross-school collaboration opportunities, including project leadership teams, school leadership teams within each school, and working groups. Schools connected by cohort year and size, and educators connected by role. The success of this approach has been replicated across other initiatives. 

Breakdown of the RECN Network

RECN Photo Gallery

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Contact

Janet Boyle headshot

Janet Boyle, Ph.D

Director of Rural Early College Network (RECN)

317-791-5990
boylej@uindy.edu