BAYTOWN, TX — Lee College administrators and faculty joined the Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District (GCCISD) this month for the dedication of the new building for IMPACT Early College High School, where students are able to earn a high school diploma and two years of college credit simultaneously.
“We are true community partners: Goose Creek and Lee College have the same dream and vision,” Pres. Dr. Dennis Brown said during the dedication ceremony, held Nov. 10 in the high school cafeteria.
Operated by GCCISD, IMPACT first opened in 2010 in the Advanced Technology Center at Lee College and was also housed temporarily at the Peter E. Hyland Center. Now located on Market Street, the new building was ready by the start of the 2015-16 school year. The college campus is only a short walk away and easily accessible via a path constructed across Baytown’s Bicentennial Park.
The first IMPACT graduates received their diplomas in 2014, with about half of the 89 members of the class also receiving one or more associate degrees. The Class of 2016 includes 92 students, of which 60 are expected to earn both a diploma and an associate degree in May. Lee College waives the students’ tuition and GCCISD provides their textbooks.
“It’s not the building that makes the child or the education; it’s what happens inside. It is the magic happening here and across the street,” Brown said. “Students in IMPACT Early College High School are getting a superior education, both for their high school diploma and their Lee College degree.”