Waltham High School and Regis College launch early college partnership program

Starting this fall, Waltham High School students will have a new way to earn free college credits before they graduate. 

On May 22, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a new academic partnership program with Regis College, adding to WHS’s early college offerings with Framingham State and MassBay Community College. For the first time, though, students will have the opportunity to take courses on a college campus through Regis. 

The partnership makes WHS the latest addition to a fast-growing statewide initiative aimed at giving high school students a head start on college. 

Both institutions described the application process for state approval as lengthy and demanding. Amie Capodanno, Early College Program Manager at WHS, said she wrote more than 30 pages for the application, supported by 40 additional documents she compiled for the state. “I called it my doctoral thesis,” she said.

Carol Woolston, Early College Programming and Outreach Coordinator at Regis, said the college’s portion of the application ran about 50 pages and required extensive planning across both faculties. 

The process pushed both schools to think carefully about which academic pathways they were best equipped to offer, what students would need to succeed and how to effectively communicate with families in the languages they speak at home.

This fall, 10th-graders at WHS will be able to take a newly developed academic success course worth one college credit, designed jointly by both institutions. The course will be taught by a Regis faculty member and a high school co-teacher at the WHS campus as students acclimate to college-level expectations.

By their senior year, participating students will have the opportunity to take a bus to Regis at no cost and enroll in courses in health services or education — two of Regis’s academic specialties.

Students in the program will also have access to guest speakers, postsecondary planning workshops, college tours and connections to financial aid resources. There are 40 seats available for the first year, with the goal of having 120 students earn college credits before they graduate high school by the time the inaugural class completes the program.

While open to all students, the program is designed with an eye toward first-generation college students, and those who face barriers on the path to college. This includes students from low-income backgrounds, English language learners and those who may not see college as an accessible option. Capodanno noted the goal is to identify and reach these students early, giving them the support and exposure needed to see college as a realistic part of their future. 

The Waltham-Regis partnership is part of what the Healey-Driscoll administration calls the “largest early college expansion in state history.” Earlier this month, the administration approved 29 new early college partnerships statewide, adding nearly 1,700 seats for the coming school year. 

The expansion builds toward Healey’s goal, announced earlier this year, of enrolling 100,000 high school students in early college programs by 2036. “We are bringing together high schools, colleges and employers to help students graduate with college credits, career experience and a strong foundation for the future at no cost to them or their families,” Healey said in a statement.

Regis is among several higher education institutions entering into early college partnerships. Linking with Waltham made sense, because Regis already had an existing relationship with the town. The college has previously worked with the city on initiatives including an affordable dental clinic run by students and professional development for WHS teachers. That history of collaboration, Woolston said, was critical to building trust for a program of this scale.

The state approval makes both schools eligible for a state funding grant starting in fiscal 2027, and DESE has indicated it is also reviewing a funding model for credit reimbursement to college partners going forward. 

For Capodanno and Woolston, the statewide momentum suggests their partnership is just the beginning. “Given what the state of Massachusetts has put out there, there is tremendous opportunity for growth over the next decade,” Woolston said. By watching this first class experience all the partnership has to offer, both Regis and WHS will be able to mold their programming to best serve Waltham students for years to come, she said.