Challenger Early College High School

Challenger Early College High School was established in August 2005 as a joint project of the Catawba Valley Education Consortium, including Catawba County Schools, Alexander County Schools, Hickory City Schools, Newton-Conover City Schools, and Catawba Valley Community College.[4]

At the end of 8th grade, about 300 students from Catawba County apply to Challenger Early College High School. From the pool of students that apply, one-hundred students are accepted with consideration to level of education attained by their parents, family socio-economic status, ethnicity population at national and state universities, single-parent home status, teacher recommendations for success in an accelerated program.[4]

In an effort to fulfill the vision of Challenger Early College High School, multiple programs are incarnated into the learning environment to ensure that students are prepared for college, careers, and life in the 21st century.

Besides the normal class requirements, Challenger Early College High School students are also expected to do fifty hours of community service. They are also expected to present an ePortfolio that showcases their high-school learning career and the skills they developed to a panel of community evaluators. As a parent-involvement program, parents are required to attend at least five meetings and volunteer four hours every year.[4]