Career & College Promise

Overview

Chatham Charter has a partnership with Central Carolina Community College (CCCC) in using the NC Career & College Promise (CCP) as a key aspect of the Chatham Charter high school academic program. It gives eleventh and twelfth graders the ability to earn over 50 transferable college credits with free tuition. The courses are considered “dual credit” because they also help students simultaneously meet high school graduation requirements and accumulate college transfer credits. The majority of seniors at Chatham Charter will complete one of the “pathways” of study, an accomplishment achieved by few students across the state in the CCP program. More than 75 percent of Chatham Charter graduates will earn at least 32 transferable college credits.

The Chatham Charter high school program is modeled after a middle college concept. Instead of allowing upperclassmen to take the CCP courses only if they can fit them into the high school schedule, the master schedule has both high school and college-level courses already built in. Juniors and seniors have a combination of traditional seated, online, and hybrid classes. They will typically take some classes on CCCC campuses in yet another of Chatham Charter’s steps toward preparing for them for college life.

Maximizing the Career & College Promise

• Upperclassmen focus on courses in either a College Transfer Pathway or a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathway. The majority of Chatham Charter’s students complete the College Transfer Pathway. The College Transfer Pathways are (Leading to an Associate of) 1) Arts, 2) Science and 3) Engineering. Students studying in CTE areas can complete a Pathway or certificate, and/or earn an industry-recognized workforce credential.
• Chatham Charter builds its high school master schedule around the college course schedule in order to maximize the number of courses students can take. 
• Dedicated staff monitor and advise students taking college-level courses.
• Students develop soft skills in the “unwritten curriculum” and are well-prepared for the post-secondary study and the workforce. Among the skills students learn throughout the K-12 years at Chatham Charter are critical thinking, problem solving, time management, organization, self-advocacy, good work ethic, and strong communication/public speaking.
• The daily schedule is individualized and flexes to meet high school and college course formats (seated, hybrid or online) and times.
• Many aspects of the high school design mirror a college environment. Examples include teacher office hours and student privileges such as off-campus lunch.