Rural Early College Network

Supporting the expansion of Early College programs in rural Indiana high schools
The RECN Impact

75% of graduates from endorsed Early College High School programs in the RECN network went on to college in 2022, compared to 53% of Indiana graduates

RECN Background

In December of 2019, CELL 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 focused on helping rural high schools implement high-quality, sustainable Early College programs through a system of supports, coaching, and a network approach. RECN was conceived and led by Dr. Janet Boyle, who is a longtime champion of Early College programs in Indiana.

RECN's goals included 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 overcame 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 nation)
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 Schools

View the mentor and partner schools for years one through three of the RECN initiative.

Mentor Schools

  • Delta High School, Delaware County, Muncie, IN
  • Greensburg Community High School, Decatur County, Greensburg, IN
  • Lincoln High School, Knox County, Vincennes, IN
  • Perry Central Jr./Sr. High School, Perry County, Leopold, IN
  • Wabash High School, Wabash County, Wabash, IN

Year 1 schools

  • Bedford North Lawrence High School, Lawrence County, Bedford, IN
  • Jay County High School, Jay County, Portland, IN
  • Logansport High School, Cass County, Logansport, IN
  • Parke Heritage High School, Parke County, Rockville, IN
  • Winchester Community High School, Randolph County, Winchester, IN

Year 2 Schools

  • Franklin County High School, Franklin County, Brookeville, IN
  • New Palestine High School, Hancock County, New Palestine, IN
  • Northridge High School, LaGrange County, Middlebury, IN
  • Paoli Jr./Sr. High School, Orange County, Paoli, IN
  • Rising Sun High School, Ohio County, Rising Sun, IN

Year 3 Schools

  • Frontier High School, White County, Chalmers, IN
  • Seeger Jr/Sr High School, Warren County, West Lebanon, IN
  • Sheridan High School, Hamilton County, Sheridan, IN
  • Shoals High School, Martin County, Shoals, IN
  • Southridge High School, Dubois County, Huntingburg, IN

RECN 2.0

RECN 1.0 paved the way for RECN 2.0, launched in 2025 through a federal Education Innovation and Research grant. RECN 2.0 built on the success of RECN 1.0, with new and expanded offerings.

Contact

Interested in more information about the Rural Early College Network? Contact Steve Combs, Director of Early College, at combss@uindy.edu.
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