Scottsdale Unified School District’s Coronado High School and Scottsdale Community College announce a new partnership to establish an Early College Campus at Coronado, 7501 E. Virginia Ave.

“This initiative marks a significant step forward in providing enhanced educational opportunities for our SUSD high school students and aligns with both institutions' commitment to academic excellence, preparing the next generation for success in higher education and the workforce,” said Dr. Scott Menzel, SUSD’s superintendent.

Key highlights of the partnership include concurrent enrollment with expert Instruction from SCC faculty. SCC professors will teach select courses at Coronado High School, offering students a unique opportunity to learn from professionals in a high school setting as part of their regular high school schedule. Coronado students will also work towards earning their Level One Entrepreneurship Certification as part of this learning model and will learn how to launch a successful company from start to finish and turn their dreams into reality.

Goals of the partnership are to establish networking opportunities for students with SCC professors and local industry leaders and introduce high-interest classes not currently part of dual-enrollment offerings at Coronado High School.

 “The long-term goal of this partnership is to empower students participating in the program to graduate from Coronado High School and have greater access to college courses, possibly earning a degree or certificate along the way,” said SCC President Dr. Eric Leshinskie.  “We are excited by the early interest this is generating among Coronado students and look forward to growing our partnership, offering more courses and increasing the pipeline to higher education.”

The first Early College course being taught this semester by SCC faculty at Coronado is "Marketing and Social Media.”  Next school year (2024-2025), the offerings will be expanded to include “Intro to Entrepreneurship” and “New Venture Creation.” Both courses lead to students being eligible to earn their Level One Entrepreneurship Certification from SCC. These courses are concurrent-enrollment classes, meaning SUSD students earn college credit and high school credit simultaneously.

Coronado Principal Amy Palatucci said the new SCC/SUSD partnership fits well with the community’s Coronado Promise program. 

“The Coronado Promise is a K-12 commitment that helps ensure our students are prepared for higher education by providing scholarships to help offset the cost of college tuition,” she said.  “With this new partnership with SCC, our Coronado Dons get a running start on higher education, along with earning their diploma from us.  It’s a wonderful collaboration.”

Visit susd.org/Coronado for more information.