Dear Charlotte Teacher Early College families,
Charlotte Teacher Early College (CTEC) opened in August 2017 on the campus of UNC Charlotte to serve students interested in a career in education. The early college model is designed to provide opportunities for high school students to earn college credit, free of charge, during the five years in the program. We have open admission and seek to provide opportunities for first-generation college students, underrepresented minority groups and students in search of acceleration. We admit 55 students in the ninth grade each year. We typically admit a small number of students in the 10th grade, based on availability. Students are admitted during the CMS School Options Lottery typically held in December and January.
Students typically spend the first two years in the program completing their high school coursework. Most students begin taking a combination of high school and college courses at the beginning of their 11th-grade year. The number of college courses increases during the 12th and 13th grade years. CTEC students can choose to graduate after the 12th grade or stay to earn additional free college credit in the 13th grade year.
Why CTEC? Here are some of the advantages we offer:
- High school graduation-24 credits
- Students can earn up to 60 hours of transferable college credit
- All tuition, fees, textbooks are included
- Small, personalized learning environment
- Access to the UNC Charlotte campus and coursework
- Highly qualified, committed staff
- Diverse student population
Our students want to be teachers and pursue a degree in education. We accept rising ninth-grade or 10th grade students who live in Mecklenburg County. We look for students who have a strong interest in the engineering field of study, who have a strong work ethic, can handle honors-level curriculum and want to go to college. We also look for students with strong academic potential who are able to work independently to meet academic goals. We expect our students to come to school and follow our rules and those of UNC Charlotte.
CTEC students take all honors level high courses during the first two years of the program, which also allows students to begin taking college courses in their junior year. The college coursework is focused on teaching and offers the opportunity to complete UNC Charlotte general education requirements.
Our students are willing to forgo the traditional large high school experience. Instead, they have a fast-paced, all honors level program with a lot of math. To succeed in this program, the student has to want to attend and participate. If you’d like more information, call us at 980-343-9898.
We are academically rigorous and our students are meeting the challenges successfully, In 2017-2018, CTEC made expected growth in Math I and biology. We received a school grade of B from the state, based on our testing results. Let me share some information about me with you. I have been in education for 25 years, all of them in CMS. I have been a principal for 12 years. I grew up in Scotland Neck, North Carolina, over in the eastern part of our great state. I earned an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in health and physical education from East Carolina University (Go, Pirates!). After completing my studies, I moved to Charlotte and began teaching and coaching at what was then Smith Middle School, where I also served as athletic director for three years. In 1998, I entered the Principal Fellows Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. During this time, I also completed an administrative internship at J.M. Alexander Middle School in Huntersville. I received a master’s degree in school administration in 2000 (Go, Niners!).
In June 2000, I became an assistant principal at Carmel Middle School and spent six wonderful years there. In July 2006, I was named principal at Alexander Graham Middle School and spent four years there. During my tenure, A.G. achieved great academic success, completed a major renovation project and saw enrollment grow to more than 1,200 students. In August of 2010, I was named principal at Butler High School. In 2013, Butler’s graduation rate reached 93.4 percent and U.S. News & World Report ranked Butler the number-one high school in CMS and the number-three high school in North Carolina.In March 2014, I became the first principal of the Charlotte Engineering Early College, the first early college program in CMS. The Charlotte Teacher Early College opened in August 2017 in the Cato College of Education at UNC Charlotte.
I am also a parent. My wife, Ann, and I have three sons. Wesley, Scott and Jack are our pride and joy and keep me very busy outside of school. Between school and family, my spare time is limited. But I enjoy all sports, fantasy football, golf, travel, music and watching my sons play baseball.
I look forward to working with you and your student. Thank you for choosing CMS and Charlotte Teachers Early College!
Will Leach, principal
