An unusual public high school opened this fall in Baltimore, in which students can graduate with an associate’s degree, two years of college, at the same time they earn a high-school diploma, all without paying tuition. The Baltimore City public schools entered into a contract with Bard College, a small liberal arts college in upstate New York, which already operates “early colleges” in four other cities.
This week, producer Jonna McKone and Sheilah Kast visited the newest Bard High School Early College. It’s in the Middle East neighborhood of Baltimore. After class they sat down with Francesca Gamber, head of the Bard early college in Baltimore and with Tyler Williams, a third-year high school student and first-year college student, at the new Bard High School Early College. They also heard from professor Patrick Oray and from students in his Great Books seminar.