Itineris Early College High School

Renée Edwards & Rabecca Cisneros

Early-College High School, Connecting to Local Colleges & Organizations, Creating Unique Programs & Opportunities for Students

Episode #3 Recap

Renée Edwards & Rabecca Cisneros shed light on how they are creating a unique early-college high school in West Jordan, UT. From sharing a building with the local community college to having their very own facility, Renée and Rabecca share how they went about gaining independence as an established program. They were even generous enough to explain how they navigated the challenge of financing their school.

They give great insights into how to build connections with local colleges and organizations to offer opportunities to students.

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Being a charter school free of boundaries, Itineris is proud of their demographic and economic diversity. Their program gives youth the opportunity to graduate with a college degree at a very low cost; this is incredibly valuable for underprivileged youth that get to attend Itineris.

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Rabecca brings up an important point in regards to staying true to who you are. She uses the example of some students who wanted a band program. Instead of creating a band program to win over a few students, they came to the conclusion that they are NOT a band school. They focus on STEM and college preparation. By staying true to who they are, they have never disappointed in their pursuit of their mission.

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At Itineris, they focus on building appropriate salaries and schedules to financially compensate their staff. They give details into how they have conquered teacher retention.