Granville Early College High School

History and Design 

• Granville Early College High School (GECHS) was established in 2009 as an innovative partnership between Vance-Granville Community College (VGCC) and Granville County Public Schools (GCPS). Located just across from VGCC’s South Campus, in Creedmoor, NC, GECHS is a small, autonomous high school, which provides a rigorous academic focus, along with personalized relationships among faculty, parents, and students that serves a diverse population reflective of GCPS.

• GECHS opened its doors with an enrollment of 50 9th grade students, under the leadership of Principal Chris Hamm. In 2013 Reginald Brooks was named principal of GECHS, and in 2014 Jackie Harris became principal. While small, the school has increased its population by adding a grade each year and currently has an enrollment of 206 students in grades 9-12. In 2024 Principal Harris retired after serving as principal for 10 years. In September 2024, Dr. Gwen Roulhac became principal and currently serves in that capacity.

• This redesigned high school blends the high school and college requirements beginning in grade nine such that all students are provided the experiences, support, and opportunities to complete a North Carolina high school diploma and up to two years of transferable college credit at no cost to the student, within four to five years of starting high school. In 2013, GECHS graduated 8 students who completed their high school requirements, while also earning an Associates in Arts Degree. The number of students completing GECHS in 4 years has increased each year. Since the initial graduating class, 430 of the 470 graduates of GECHS have earned an Associate’s Degree along with their high school diploma. 

• GECHS and VGCC wish, by Memorandum of Understanding, to formally articulate and promote the collaborative relationship between their respective institutions. Since the two institutions share a common desire to accelerate learning for students and to ensure that all students graduate and are prepared for college, as well as for work and life in the 21 st century, the institutions agree to share their respective resources so that the students, faculty, staff, and administrators of both institutions will be better able to carry out their educational and scholarly missions. Furthermore, the early college concept is designed to reduce the high school student drop-out rate and to increase the number of students accessing and completing college. GECHS will serve as a model high school for high school innovation and dedicate itself to innovative instruction and best practices.