Who We Are
Funding
Metro Early College High School has received significant support from Battelle, The Ohio State University and Coalition of Essential Schools National to design and open the school. Metro was also awarded the Early College Grant through the Knowledge Works Foundation and the Ohio Department of Education. Recurrent funding comes from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation the Department of Education, and districts whose students attend the school.
Metro’s Capacity
Metro is designed to reach maximum enrollment in 2009 with 400 students. As participation among districts varies, so too will our enrollment. We expect that each class will have at least 90 students and no more than 115. Students may transfer into Metro after the start of 9th grade, but because of our Early College Design, students will not be accepted after their 10th grade experience.
Enrollment has been phased as follows:
| Fall 2006 | Ninth Grade |
| Fall 2007 | Ninth and Tenth Grades |
| Fall 2008 | Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh Grades |
| Fall 2009 | Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth Grades |
Metro is designed to offer Central Ohio students an education that is rigorous in content and expectations, relevant to their daily lives now and in the future, and based on the formation of strong relationships with both adults and peers within the learning community. Demographically, sixty-seven percent of the students are from urban districts, thirty-eight percent of the students are students of color, forty-one percent receive free or reduced lunch and we currently have more boys than girls.
Recruitment
Metro seeks students who are intellectually curious and motivated to achieve in a STEM environment. We use a lottery system of selection per district and therefore our student population may vary according to the pool of applicants. As a strategy, we actively recruit membership for the lottery targeting students who live in high poverty areas and do not currently have family members who have entered/completed a college program of studies. Our aim is to provide an environment where students who would not have access to a rigorous curriculum targeted toward collegiate success have experiences and exposures that will enable them to complete a 4-year college experience.