Beaufort County Early College High School is celebrating its place in the “100% Graduation Club” awarded by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Principal Emily Pake said the school improved its graduation rate from 91 percent in the 2013-2014 school year to 100 percent in the 2014-2015 school year.

Early College High School was one of 52 other schools in the state to be recognized.

Pake said she thinks the school’s success comes from its ability to focus on each student, as well as create a relationship with the student’s family.

“The Early College definitely lends itself to a more personal approach,” she said. “We started an intervention program and we’ve started to focus on the performance in college classes.”

The high school operates on a five-year program: the first two years are dedicated to earning a high school diploma and the following years are for students to earn an associate degree of their choice.

Pake said school staff follows a sort of intervention pyramid, which is a three-tiered program to track the progress of students who are in danger of failing. The student’s teachers all have access to a Google doc to keep everyone involved in the student’s progress and updated on how he or she may be performing in other classes, she said.

“We’re proactive and do not wait for the students to come to us,” Pake said. “We’ve worked hard to increase student achievement both in the high school and college setting.”

The schools included in the Graduation Club were invited to attend a ceremony in Durham back in October in recognition of their achievements, with remarks from State Superintendent June Atkinson, and each school received a plaque to commemorate the occasion.

Pake said the Early College would not be successful without the teamwork and support that comes from the students, staff and parents.

“The teachers are involved, the counselors are involved and the college liaisons,” she said. “The students work really hard. It’s a rigorous program.”