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By Erin Smith
Students were excited and eagerly listening, as teachers presented lessons on Thursday
morning at the Bladen Early College High School. The school is located in Building 17 on the
campus of Bladen Community College and is Bladen County’s third high school.
The Bladen Early College is a partnership between Bladen Community College and Bladen
County Schools. The staff of the Bladen Early College High School consists of Principal Rodney
Smith, Secretary Linda Lacewell and Curriculum Specialist and Liaison, Nicole Dove. Teachers
include Mary A. McLean-Smith, Dr. Robin Donaldson, Elizabeth Marie Sanders and Christopher
Carroll.
Principal Smith said the Bladen Early College High School is one of 129 such schools in North
Carolina. The school is part of the Cooperative Innovative Schools program in North Carolina.
The current enrollment for the Early College is 50 students from both East Bladen and West
Bladen High Schools, as well as some students who have transferred from Columbus Charter
School and Robeson County Schools, according to Principal Smith.
Nicole Dove, who serves as the Curriculum Specialist and Liaison, has a passion for working
with students who want to attend college. She said, “I worked with the New Schools program
and I saw how important it was for kids to get that experience.”
Students shared their insights of the Early College. Many of the students said they did feel like
they were in college, and the course work is presenting them with a positive challenge. Tutoring
is also available to students on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. The students are
currently working on their high school credits and their college courses are scheduled to begin
in the Spring semester.
Anna Harris said, “I like it because the teachers explain things better than other teachers do.”
One student, Destiny, added, “We get that one-on-one instruction.”
Other students echoed their thoughts. Some students said they thought the classes were more
difficult at Bladen Early College, compared to the courses they would have enrolled in at East
Bladen or West Bladen High School.
Teachers, too, said they like the format of the Early College classes and the feeling of
inclusiveness with the college.
“I really like the fact that we have small classes. We also get to interact with some of the college
activities. We got to attend the groundbreaking and we’ve got some writers that are coming to a
symposium (on campus) so we’re going to be a part of that,” said Math Teacher, Dr. Robin
Donaldson.
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