GEORGETOWN — Georgetown Public Schools will be furthering students’ opportunity for early college learning, thanks to grant funding that allows the District to strengthen its partnership with Northern Essex Community College (NECC).
The state, which has set a goal of enrolling 100,000 Early College students by 2036, allocated $8.2 million statewide to continue existing college and high school pairings, add capacity where needed and start new partnerships.
Georgetown Public Schools will receive $25,000, allowing it to plan Early College Programming with NECC starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
Georgetown Public Schools has long provided students early college education with opportunities at Northern Essex. The program expanded to six classes at NECC’s Haverhill campus, allowing students to have access to choices aligned to their interests, including medical terminology, business, American government and politics and more, all while interacting with other local high school early college students.
With this funding, Georgetown Public Schools will be able to submit a designation application to the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, allowing the District to choose a pathway for Georgetown students to take as they pursue college-level education.
Students within a designated program can take up to four early college classes, the equivalent of an entire college semester, reducing the overall cost of a college education.
“We are grateful to receive this funding that allows us to further invest into early college learning, a program that is very important to our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Margo Ferrick. “Our early college program allows students to pursue education in topics relevant to their career interests, allowing them to graduate already having knowledge within their respective fields. Our hope as a District is to continue to expand on our early college program and to further in-the-field, hands-on learning experiences for all students.”