Hidden on the third floor of OCCC’s Main building is Pathways Middle College High School, an alternative school for serious students who are interested in entering college at an early age.

Principal Carol Brogan calls the school “the best kept secret in Oklahoma City Public Schools.”

Pathways has a 100 percent graduation rate with between 90 and 100 percent of its graduates going on to college.

Most students are enrolled for college courses during their senior year, earning college credit. Some even begin taking college courses as high school juniors, if their ACT score is high enough to allow it.

“I found out about the school while looking at colleges with my counselor,” said Tricia Morgan, 15, who has been attending Pathways for two years. “I chose this school because you have to take concurrent (classes) to boost yourself up.”

In the past eight years, Pathways has produced seven Clara Luper scholarship winners, Brogan said. This scholarship provides for tuition, room and board, and a $200 per semester book allowance for students to attend Oklahoma City University.

Students can enroll in Pathways as early as the eighth grade. The application process, which includes an interview, begins in February and students are admitted by May.

“The only thing I’m missing out on by not going to a normal high school is sports,” Morgan said. “But we’re allowed to join teams at other schools, so it’s not too bad.”

Each grade is limited to 20 students. The staff of five teachers is able to teach every subject. Students are required to complete 32 hours of community service for every year they are enrolled.

For 11 years now, Pathways students have been volunteering at the Oklahoma Arts Festival on campus, the food bank, and been a part of the Key Club.

To contact Amber Giordano, email onlineeditor@occc.edu