What is J. P. Knapp Early College?

J. P. Knapp Early College High School is a North Carolina public high school in the Currituck County School District that serves students in grades 9-13. J. P. Knapp has a current student enrollment of 305 students that is capped at a total student enrollment of no more than 350 students. The idea behind the evolution of the early college concept was to create an academic setting that would provide supports for a targeted demographic group of students who typically would never have the opportunity to attend college. To meet that goal, eighty percent (80%) of the students who apply to attend J. P. Knapp Early College must fall into one or more specific demographic categories:

• Be the first-time college goer in their family,
• Be from a low socio-economic household,
• Be a minority student,
• Be an English Language Learner, or
• Be “at-risk” of not graduating from high school.

Students who attend J. P. Knapp Early College have the option of also taking college courses through our higher education partner school, the College of The Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Students who attend other traditional and/or Cooperative Innovative High Schools in North Carolina may also take college courses as “dual enrolled” students, but early colleges have access to those courses in a slightly different and less restrictive format. Also at J. P. Knapp, students can request to stay an additional year or "5th year" to complete their academic program. This program is state supported and operates at no cost to the parents and families of our students, even the college textbook costs are funded by the State of North Carolina, not the local district.

Our goal is to graduate students that can enroll, enlist or employ, with confidence and credentials. Over the last three consecutive school years, the J. P. Knapp Graduation Rate has exceeded ninety-five percent (95%) .  Last year, in 2020, 83% of J. P. Knapp’s high school graduates received an Associate Degree, Career Diploma, or Career Certification from the College of The Albemarle before their graduation from high school. This year, 2022, we are on track to graduate 86% of our students with the same recognitions from COA.  In addition, in 2021, 100% of our students graduated with transferable college credit.