Isaac Bear Early College High School

Background and Original Building

The original Isaac Bear Building, located at Market and 13th Streets, served as the first home of Wilmington College, outside the public school system. Classes were first held there in 1947. Constructed in 1912, the name of the first building was given by Samuel Bear, Jr. (1854-1916) as a memorial to his brother, Isaac Bear. The Bear family, owners of an intrastate wholesale dry goods firm located on Front Street, made a number of large donations to better the community such as a wing to James Walker Memorial Hospital. Isaac Bear was known as "one of Wilmington's most capable and highly esteemed businessmen." He was a member of North State Lodge of B'Nai Brith, past Grand President of District Grand Lodge, and B.P.O.E Elks #532. Upon his death, the Isaac Bear Memorial School served to remember "the close friendship and devotion between the brothers and their interest in public welfare." The school and its name stands as a memorial to Samuel Bear Jr.'s original intentions - to honor his late brother Isaac.

The Early College Program

Early College High Schools are small, autonomous schools where students complete all high school requirements and up to 60 hours of college credit during their four years of high school. Early College High Schools make higher education more accessible, affordable, and attractive by bridging the divide between high school and college; eliminate time wasted during the junior and senior years of high school and facilitate the transition of motivated students to higher education; provide intensive guidance and support from adults through the start of college coursework; and demonstrate new ways of integrating levels of schooling to better serve the intellectual and developmental needs of young people.

For more information on the North Carolina Learn & Earn Early College Program, visit the North Carolina New Schools Project website: http://ncnewschools.org/

The Gates Foundation Contributions

In 2002, the Early College High School Initiative launched, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Contributions from this organization, (totaling in over $124 million, as of 2008), assisted in the founding of over 230 early colleges across 28 of the 40 United States, 10 of these existing in North Carolina. It is because of these generous contributions that Isaac Bear and other like Early College programs have been able to sustain themselves.

Statistics

Isaac Bear itself, with the help of its staff, which consists of 23 members (not including cafeteria catering providers), has graduated 6 cohorts between 2010 and 2015. The graduating class of 2014 alone received a combined amount of over $3 million in scholarships, many of which have published or are in the process of publishing research with professors from the nearby University of North Carolina Wilmington. Almost every educator that provides learning to local students has many accolades and awards under he/she's name, and every teacher maintains at least one college degree and are certified teachers. The average Cumulative GPA of the fall 2015 cohort (60 students) was a 3.10. In a traditional class, a 9th and 10th grade at Isaac Bear will take 9 courses in the student's first year and 10 classes in he/she's second year, not including Physical Education or extracurricular clubs.

Per year at Isaac Bear, the student must work to document 50 hours of volunteering within the community, totaling at 200 hours. This system was designed to give back to the community that is responsible for Isaac Bear's success. For this purpose, Fridays at Isaac Bear Early College are cut to 1:15 in order for students to volunteer in their community.

In addition to this, the school day starts at 9am and ends at 4:15 on traditional days, which allows for students to perform more effectively in the classroom and prevents early morning traffic conflicts with buses.

Course of Study (9th Grade)

This Course of Study is dependent upon the student's previous course certifications, however in order to move up to the next grade, the student will have to have each class's requirements met. In the case that a student completes a course prior to their admission into Isaac Bear, in place of one or more of these classes, may take an online course in order to better their education on a subject not listed here.

Course of Study (10th Grade)

In he/she's sophomore year, the student may participate in 1 to 2 university classes, which most commonly replace a math course the student has taken prior to being enrolled to Isaac Bear, or completed before most of the student's peers.

Clubs and Partnerships

Isaac Bear offers many academic and extracurricular clubs including but not limited to:

The Isaac Bear Early College High School has also partnered with the Wilmington Rotary Club to form its own certified Interact Club, in order to participate in local, national, and international service projects and "give back to the community that helped to found" the school and provide education for its students. The high school has also in the past partnered with the Watson College of Education and Nelson Mandela University to host visiting International Interns.

Awards and Accolades

Other Information

As a subsidiary of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Isaac Bear and its students are able to participate in exclusive activities and access university buildings due to the school liaison, Dr. Keisha Bennett-Smith.