Alice High School briefs parents on early college, dual credit options

Alice High School used a parent meeting Tuesday to spell out how incoming freshmen can start earning college credit before they finish high school, a move that could save families money and shorten the road to a degree.

Principal Dr. Cidonio Cantu walked parents through the district’s Early College and Dual Credit programs, including partnerships with Coastal Bend College and Del Mar College. For some students, the payoff could be as much as 60 college credit hours or even an associate’s degree by the time they earn a diploma. Alice ECHS materials say the program is designed to let students graduate with both a high school diploma and college credit, while the campus enrolls about 180 early college students.

The timing matters for families deciding what freshman year should look like. Alice High School serves roughly 1,290 students in grades 9 through 12, so the conversation was not just about one program night but about how students map out four years of classes from the start. Counselors and parents are already being asked to think about science, math, language arts and career sequences early, because college-level work can change the shape of a schedule long before senior year. For families balancing tuition concerns with the realities of college admissions, the chance to earn credit now can mean fewer classes to pay for later.

Coastal Bend College says dual credit students enroll through a high school counselor, and the process depends on class loads, schedules, test scores, prior academic records and extracurricular activities. Del Mar College says dual enrollment lets Texas public high school students earn college and high school credit at the same time at no cost. Coastal Bend College’s 2025-2026 agreement with Alice ISD runs from Aug. 14, 2025, through Aug. 14, 2026, and says college and high school credit are transcripted immediately after course requirements are completed.

State rules back up the local push. The Texas Education Agency describes early college high schools as open-enrollment programs that can lead to up to 60 college credit hours or an associate degree, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board guidance says some non-degree-seeking high school students are not required to be TSI-met for dual credit. For Alice families, the message from Tuesday’s meeting was plain: the path to college can begin in freshman year, and the decisions made now can shape both the cost and the speed of what comes next.