On Thursday, August 20, 2009, Dona Ana County’s first Early College High School will be unveiled. The project is the result of a partnership between New Mexico State University (NMSU), Dona Ana Community College (DACC), Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District and Hatch Valley Public Schools. The announcement will be held at the NMSU College of Education, O’Donnell Hall Atrium, 1220 Stewart Street, and beginning at 10:00 a.m. NMSU Interim President Dr. Manuel T. Pacheco, Las Cruces Public Schools Superintendent Stan Rounds, Governor Bill Richardson and NM Public Education Department Secretary Dr. Veronica C. Garcia will be among the speakers.
The facility will be built on land adjacent to the Arrowhead Research Park and will have a career-tech STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) focus along with introducing entrepreneurial skills. The dual credit program established between higher education institutions and the public schools will allow a student to enroll for a class at Dona Ana 
Community College (DACC) or New Mexico State University (NMSU) and receive both high school and college credit. This program will allow a student to not only complete a high school curriculum, but also permit that student to graduate with over 30 college credits and in some cases even qualify for an Associates degree from DACC. The project has been a focus of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico since its inception. The participating educational institutions are members of the Bridge.
Visitors may obtain an E-Permit for the event on-line: http://www.campusvisitor.com/.
