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 Launched in 2008, Southwest Early College Campus (SWECC) is an open-enrollment (no entrance exam) 7th-12th grade early college school with a current population of 500 students. The school was established through a special relationship between the Kansas City, Missouri School District (KCMSD) and a circle of partners organized and supported by PREP-KC. The student body closely matches the general demographics of the school district, and a majority of the students are first-generation college-goers. This fall, as a result of new attendance boundaries in the KCMSD, student enrollment will grow to more than 1,100 students. As faculty prepares for the increase, family conferences remain an important part of the enrollment process for SWECC. Each incoming student, joined by family members, will participate in a family conference and sign a contract committing to the hard work necessary to be successful.
Along with the expectation that all students complete college courses before leaving high school, SWECC is designed to prepare students for college and career opportunities in math and science, and to create multiple campus-based experiences during middle school and high school. These campus experiences can nearly double the odds that students will enroll in a four-year college*, and can build a student's skills and aspiration to complete a college program. 
To build on the school's early successes (see below), more than 50 incoming ninth-grade students will receive their first taste college life this summer, during the third annual Summer Scholars Academy at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The Summer Scholars experience is designed to be a hands-on, interactive experience with college faculty that gives students the opportunity to experience college life. During their two days on campus, students will make aspirin in the chemistry lab, participate in a lab experience with the METI-man (a robotic patient simulator), and join a special interactive theater workshop with The Kansas City Repertory Theatre.
SWECC faculty and partners look forward to expanding access to these transformational experiences to more KCMSD students and their families, and to helping create a new generation of college-goers in the Kansas City community.
*American Council on Education, Center for Policy Analysis. "Access and Persistence: Findings from 10 years of Longitudinal Research" Susan Choy, 2002.
The SWECC Partner Organizations
Along with early-college expectations, the SWECC partnership is designed to support college and career opportunities in math and science. Partner organizations include:
Showing early positive results
After two years of operation, SWECC's early data show promising news for the school and its hard-working students.
- Nearly 20% of 9th and 10th graders (43 students total) completed a college class, such as College Algebra, Trigonometry and Physics.
- More than 85% of SWECC parents believe the school has helped their children establish educational and career goals.
- In schools in partnership with Woodrow Wilson, 77% of students are admitted to a four-year university.
Preparing for college success
Building a seamless relationship between high school and college, SWECC recently announced the new role of University-based College Liaison. These liaisons will:
- Work in partnership with the high school faculty to create college pathways that allow SWECC students to take college classes at UMKC.
- Build collaborative partnerships between UMKC and SWECC faculty to create aligned course sequences and college-going expectations.
- Provide a range of opportunities (for students starting in the 7th grade) to explore college and career interests.
Meet the college liaisons
Dr. Linda Edwards
Dean Emeritus
UMKC School of Education
Dr. Jane Greer
Associate Professor of English
UMKC
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