Collegiate High School is a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located on the

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

campus of

Polk State College Polk State College, formerly Polk Community College, is a public college in Winter Haven, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college changed its name from Polk Community College in 2009 to reflect its first Bachelor's degre ...

. The program is unique in that it is located in a

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

campus and offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to earn their

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

or MCSE/ CNE certification (for IT students) at the same time as their

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

, with course registration and

textbooks A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textbook ...

provided completely free of charge.

Admittance

Admittance to CHS is based on a

lottery A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...

of sorts. Potential candidates for the program are screened toward the end of their

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

year to verify that they have an unweighted 3.2

GPA Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

for the AA or a 2.5 GPA for either the IT or

Allied Health Allied health professions are health care professions distinct from optometry, dentistry, nursing, medicine, and pharmacy. They provide a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic, and support services in connection with health care. Definitio ...

programs. They must also have a minimum of eleven high school credits and be on track for

graduation Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...

. Then, they are mailed an invitation to an information session and are given registration packets. There is then a random drawing from the registered students to choose the ones who will attend the following school year.

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2004 High schools in Polk County, Florida Public high schools in Florida Charter schools in Florida Schools in Lakeland, Florida 2004 establishments in Florida