“I must admit that I was scared initially. I thought the classes may be too hard for me and that I wouldn’t make any friends,” said Linares.

To her surprise, the rigor of the classes challenged her and prepared her with the necessary tools to be successful in all of her classes. “It’s been a great experience. I have new friends and a stronger confidence in my ability to take tough classes.”

Early College

As part of a special pathway called “Early College,” students at Century and Godinez Fundamental high schools can enroll in college courses and receive dual credit for high school and college. Students choosing to participate in this pathway have the opportunity to complete a minimum of 30 semester credits towards an AA degree, which is equal to one year of college completion upon graduation from high school.

College Now

Through an additional program called “College Now,” which is offered outside of the regular school day, Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) students attending Century, Godinez Fundamental, Saddleback, Santa Ana, and Sana Ana Valley high schools are also able to enroll in college courses on their campuses.

Students can choose from a host of electives including psychology, business, study skills, beginning photography, immigration law, kinesiology, counseling, child development, and culinary arts. The elective courses fulfill requirements for their chosen career pathway and the high school diploma while also being credited on their college transcript.

“This is another example of our commitment to provide a clear pathway for our students to attend college and to reach their goals of obtaining their dream careers,” said Dr. Stefanie Phillips, Superintendent of SAUSD. “We have partnered with Santa Ana College to remove barriers that would prevent students from being able to attend college including offering college courses at their respective campuses, making sure that our students know about receiving free tuition freshman year and a laptop at SAC, and expanding the District’s dual college high school programs with the opening of Advanced Learning Academy in the fall of 2017.”

Advanced Learning Academy

To learn more about the Advanced Learning Academy, visit its webpage here and visit its Facebook page here.

Middle College High School

Since opening its doors in 1997, Middle College has proven to be an excellent program for students to complete their high school and college education at the same time. It has received the National Blue Ribbon School Award twice, and most recently identified in U.S. News Weekly as one of the Top 100 schools in the United States.

In 2017, Middle College proudly graduated 100% of its 78 students with 54 expected to receive their A.A. Degree and the remaining 24 students with 30 to 59 college units.

“We’ve seen tremendous success at Middle College, so we wanted to emulate that model in another region of the city to provide greater access to our students,” said Phillips.

To learn more about Middle College High School, visit its webpage here and its Facebook page here.

To learn more about the early college programs in the Santa Ana Unified School District, please call our Enrollment Center at (714) 433-3481.