National Blue Ribbon Schools Program

Alameda Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) is located on the island community of Alameda, located within the greater San Francisco Bay Area. Now in its 13th year of operation, ASTI represents an investment by the district in a small, unique option for its high school students. As an Early College High School (ECHS), ASTI shares a campus with the College of Alameda, and ASTI students enroll as full-time community college students during their 11th and 12th grade years. High expectations are the foundation of ASTI’s program. With only two years to transition students from middle school to college, instructors craft curriculum that challenges students from the start. The school’s culture is built around academic, social, and emotional support for students and their families. This early college experience has translated into a track record of success. In addition to earning their high school diploma, graduates routinely pursue higher goals, with 88% meeting UC ‘a-g’ requirements, 35% completing an Associate of Arts (AA) degree and 58% completing requirements for the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC). In their college courses, ASTI students maintain an average GPA above 3.00, with many students earning honors upon graduation. They earn a rough average of 58 college units each during their four years at the school. ASTI embraces the Early College High School Initiative’s primary objective to increase college retention of underrepresented groups, i.e. first-generation college-bound students and students from underrepresented groups on college campuses.