2026 Early College Summit

Dual enrollment participation is growing, yet access and outcomes remain uneven, especially for students who can benefit most from a clear, supported pathway into college and careers. Early colleges offer a proven model for how strong partnerships, defined pathways, and integrated supports can drive student success. Using North Carolina's Career and College Promise (CCP) program as context, this panel will explore how school and district leaders can apply these lessons to build a coordinated, strategic portfolio of dual enrollment options where early colleges and other models work together to expand opportunity and improve outcomes for all students.

Early college leaders are inundated with expectations—state standards, district initiatives, evaluation tools, PLC structures, and professional development mandates. How do we bring clarity to the complexity? This session equips principals and system leaders to design a coherent instructional framework that aligns Essential Practices, professional learning, PLC processes, NCEES, and school/district expectations into one clear, usable document. Participants will leave with a plan to crosswalk key resources with expectations and evaluation criteria, drive targeted professional development, and deploy a framework that sustains continuous improvement.