EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AT DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY

What EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AT DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY does

The Early College High School at Delaware State University is a tuition-free public charter school serving students in grades 7 through 12, housed on the campus of Delaware State University — the state's only Historically Black University — in Dover, Delaware. Founded in 2014 and approved by the Delaware Department of Education, the school operates a dual enrollment model that allows students to begin earning high school credits before grade 9, take college-level courses during high school, and accumulate up to 60 college credits at DSU, with the possibility of graduating with an Associate's degree alongside their high school diploma. Students are admitted through Delaware's state-administered lottery-based school choice process, drawing from across the state; the student body is predominantly students of color and the staff are predominantly Black, with Black men serving as coaches, teachers, and counselors. Reported outcomes include a 95% average daily attendance rate and a 95% four-year graduation rate (for all students and for Black students), with over 60% of graduates enrolling at Delaware State University. The school is governed by its own Board of Directors and is not a subsidiary of DSU, though it relies on DSU for facilities, faculty access, and the college pipeline.

The school's core product is the unified Early College Program, which encompasses a Middle School Program (grades 7–8) that cultivates a college-going culture and a High School Program (grades 9–12) that delivers the dual enrollment curriculum. Supporting offerings include an athletics program (boys basketball and others) and a clubs/activities program. Underlying technology is conventional K-12 edtech: Infinite Campus for the student information system and parent portal, Schoology as the learning management system, ClassLink/LaunchPad for single sign-on, and iOS/Android mobile apps for family access. The business model is government-funded: as a Delaware public charter school, the institution receives state per-pupil allocations from the Delaware Department of Education and does not charge tuition or fees. There are no investors, no funding rounds, no parent company, and no subsidiaries. In 2025, the ECS model was expanded to HBCU Early College Prep, a public charter school in Queens, New York, marking the first documented replication of the HBCU-embedded early college concept outside Delaware.

Name

EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AT DELAWARE STATE UNIVERSITY

Legal name

Early College School at Delaware State University

Website

https://echs.desu.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Early College High School at Delaware State University is a tuition-free Delaware public charter school on the DSU campus, serving grades 7–12 via lottery admissions and enabling students to earn up to 60 college credits and an Associate's degree from Delaware State University.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education (Public Charter School)

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Charter College-Prep & Advanced Academics Schools (EDAJACAJ)

Keywords

• Early college education
• Dual enrollment program
• Public charter school
• Secondary education
• College preparation

Headquarters

HQ city

Dover

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Public Charter School Funding: As a tuition-free public charter school approved by the Delaware Department of Education, the school receives government funding for operations. Students do not pay tuition.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Early College High School at Delaware State University is a tuition-free public charter middle and high school housed on the campus of Delaware State University. It offers a dual enrollment program for students in grades 7 through 12, allowing them to earn both high school credits and college credits simultaneously, potentially graduating with up to 60 college credits and an Associate's degree from Delaware State University.

Product overview

The Early College School at Delaware State University is a tuition-free public charter school offering a unified early college program. The core product is the dual enrollment program spanning grades 7-12, designed to accelerate student learning and college readiness. The program includes middle school preparation (grades 7-8), high school dual enrollment (grades 9-12), athletics, and extracurricular clubs. Students can earn high school credits before grade 9, enabling them to take college-level courses and potentially graduate with up to 60 college credits and an associate's degree. Mobile applications for iOS and Android complement the program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early College Dual Enrollment Program
• Middle School Program (Grades 7-8)
• High School Program (Grades 9-12)
• ECS Athletics Program
• Club and Extracurricular Activities Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% average daily attendance rate, 4 percentage points higher than national average
• +3 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Delaware State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014ECS at DSU is a public charter middle and high school housed on the campus of Delaware State University, the state's only Historically Black University. The school leverages DSU's facilities including the student center, cafeteria, and various academic buildings. DSU is the primary college destination for ECS graduates, with over 60% enrolling after graduation. DSU alumni serve as staff and coaches at the school.
• Delaware Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerECS at DSU is approved by the Delaware Department of Education as a tuition-free public charter school. The school operates under state regulations and participates in the Delaware school choice lottery system.
• DIAA (Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ECS Boys Basketball team qualified for the DIAA Tournament for the first time in program history in March 2025. The DIAA governs high school athletics in Delaware.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Uncommon Schools: Multi-state charter network focused on college preparation for low-income students of color; comparable in serving grades K-12 (or 5-12) via lottery-based public charter campuses with rigorous academic outcomes reporting.
• Eagle Academy Foundation: Network of all-boys public charter schools focused on young men of color, with a college-prep mission that explicitly emphasizes Black male mentorship — directly aligned with ECS's HBCU-embedded, Black male mentor-led model.
• BASIS Charter Schools: Charter network known for academically rigorous, college-prep curricula with advanced coursework; comparable in offering an accelerated/advanced academic pathway designed to put students ahead of standard grade-level expectations.
• SEED Schools: Residential and non-residential public charter schools serving underserved students with a college-prep curriculum and extended school day; comparable as a tuition-free college-prep public charter pathway serving students of color.
• KIPP Public Schools: Largest U.S. charter network operating college-prep K-12 schools with a similar mission of preparing students of color for college; both operate public, tuition-free charter campuses with a college-going culture and strong outcome tracking.
• Achievement First: Northeast charter network serving predominantly Black and Latino students with a college-prep mission; comparable in demographics, college-going culture emphasis, and public charter operating model.
• National Heritage Academies: Operates a portfolio of public charter schools across multiple states with a college-prep focus; comparable as a multi-site public charter operator with lottery-based admissions and outcome-driven academics.
• Success Academy Charter Schools: NYC-based public charter network serving predominantly students of color with a college-prep academic model and high outcome expectations; directly comparable in mission, demographic focus, and lottery-based public charter structure.

Others

• Early College High School Initiative (Jobs for the Future): The national early-college high school movement that funded and incubated the early-college model ECS belongs to; comparable as the broader ecosystem/incubator whose school designs ECS's program most directly derives from.

Regional players

• Odyssey Charter School: Delaware public charter school operating under the same Delaware Department of Education authorization and lottery system; comparable as a regional Delaware public charter competitor for the same statewide lottery applicant pool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/echs_at_dsu
• Facebookfacebook.com/ECHSDSU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/early-college-high-school-at-delaware-state-university

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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