Developing enlightened educational theories, to enable conceptual ideas to flourish within the practicing classroom, ensures the continuation of learning. Theory and practice are symbiotic relationships, which if presented correctly can meld vision and mission into a school’s culture.

CCSS, PARCC, SMARTER, KCS, EPIC, C-PAS* – are all these acronyms giving you a headache? Today, the educational focus is on college and career readiness and all of the preceding acronyms, each in their own way, aim to prepare graduating high school students for their next steps. And as we struggle to keep up, we may well wonder if there is any commonality and continuity in all of these. And we also may wonder where the work of MCNC (another acronym) fits in all of this. Here’s a look at a little history of what MCNC has been doing.

The level of commitment was evident in the passion with which everyone spoke about the students and the work. What quickly became evident as the registrations rolled in the weeks before the Jam is that despite many local adaptations, there is almost unanimous agreement about the program components necessary for students to be successful: engaging demanding academic work coupled with a very high level of student support sets up the expectations for hard work for all students.

The Academy of Health Sciences @ Prince George’s Community College focuses on preparing students to enter a college program in the health sciences field, providing students with the required curriculum for a public high school diploma, and the opportunity to earn an associate degree in General Studies. In July 2011, the first class of students, 100 incoming ninth-graders, arrived for a three-week summer bridge program. Today, students are thriving and completing a rigorous curriculum to address the county’s need to build a qualified healthcare workforce. A class will be added each year until the academy reaches full enrollment, roughly 400 students, through twelfth grade.