Early College Academy

Earn College Credits While In High School at Alexis I. du Pont and Thomas McKean High Schools.

The Red Clay Consolidated School District and Goldey-Beacom College have established a dual-enrollment partnership that allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses through Goldey-Beacom while in high school, earning both high school and college credits simultaneously. This opportunity prepares students for the rigors of college while coupled with the support of outstanding high school faculty. This innovative collaboration aims to empower a community of learners to reach for the stars while offering a seamless transition to higher education.

Program Details

• All Goldey-Beacom courses are offered in person and within the high school instructional day.
• Courses are offered on the high school campus and transition to the college campus during junior/senior years.
• Transportation is available to GBC for college campus courses.
• All students in the Early College Academy are enrolled in an ECA Support Class throughout their time in the program.
• Students must apply through the Delaware School Choice process at www.schoolchoicede.org between November 4, 2024, and January 8, 2025. Families must first select either “Thomas McKean High School” or “Alexis I. du Pont High School” and then select “Early College Academy.”
• While there is no prerequisite for incoming 9th graders, students must maintain a 2.8 unweighted cumulative GPA to continue in the program from year to year.
• Students who complete the Early College Academy program are eligible for an annual $4,000 merit scholarship to attend Goldey-Beacom College.

Goldey-Beacom College: Sample Course Offerings

• Early College  Academy Bootcamp Course (9th Grade– High School Credit only)
• Public Speaking
• Introduction to Sociology
• Critical Writing I
• Critical Writing II
• College Algebra
• Precalculus
• Humanities I– Our Cultural Heritage
• Humanities II– Roots of the Modern World
• Introduction to Psychology
• Desktop Applications– MS Excel

Goldey-Beacom College

Located in beautiful Pike Creek Valley and minutes from Red Clay High Schools, Goldey-Beacom is an independent, multilevel college, offering challenging undergraduate and graduate programs. As a teaching-oriented institution of higher learning, the College emphasizes instructional excellence in the classroom. It is committed to sustaining faculty who are caring, dedicated, and knowledgeable in their respective fields, who motivate their students to realize their full learning potential, and, above all, who represent teaching excellence.  Goldey-Beacom is further committed to providing its students with a caring, wholesome, intellectually stimulating learning environment so they may grow as individuals and become worthy, productive members of society.