They travel in packs. They wheel gargantuan book-bags. They have taken over the cafeteria. This is all the average traditional student knows about the participants of the Early College at Guilford program.The 125 gifted students in this program have come from both public and private high schools across Guilford County in search of a better education. Lindsey Hackett, a junior from Page High School, is excited to be a part of the program. “It’s such a better learning experience,” Hackett said. “At Page they were lowering the standards to meet those who didn’t care.”

Hackett is taking three 100- level classes at Guilford this semester in addition to AP U.S. history, and says she hasn’t had any trouble fitting in.

“They (Guilford students) really don’t know that I’m early college unless I tell them,” Hackett said. “It’s just like normal.”

As an underclassman, early college sophomore Joshua Myer feels a bit more conspicuous on campus. Nevertheless, he said his interactions with traditional Guilford students have been “entirely positive.” He has even been offered “body-guard services” from a few Guilford athletes.

The ability to fit in and get along with other students on Guilford’s campus is just what Principal Tony Lamair Burks II wants for his early college students. “They contribute what any other Guilford student would to the classroom,” Burks said. “They want to explore, probe and learn.”

Myer is no exception to this rule. He and his parents both see the early college program as a welcome alternative to his sender school, American Hebrew Academy.

Like many gifted students his age, Myer is taking classes like AP environmental science, ELPS, and advanced math. The difference is that the early college program is “much more diverse” than was AHA, said Myer. It also “provides the opportunity to get a good education and a jump-start on college.”

Some traditional Guilford students have expressed concern over early college students being allowed to get this jump-start at Guilford rather than through more traditional means, such as AP and IB courses.

Sophomore Sarah Parker said, “I think it is bad for student morale to think that eleventh and twelfth graders are capable of the same work as college students.”

This issue of competition between traditional and early college students is one that Burks both understands and has addressed with his students.

“I’ve heard some Guilford students might be afraid one of my little darlings with a perfect SAT score will be in class ‘flexing’ and trying to be ‘smarter than thou,’” said Burks. “We’ve spoken with our students about honoring their academic gifts. It’s cool to be smart. It isn’t cool to brag on and on and on about it. Scores are important, but so are relationships with fellow students.”

Early college senior David Boy says he has not encountered traditional students who are openly uncomfortable with his presence in Guilford classes.

“In my classes (Classical and Modern Physics III, Multivariable Calculus, Informal Logic, and Introduction to Programming) they know [that I am early college], but it still doesn’t seem to make a big difference,” Boy said.

First-year student Ica Rounds said she can identify with the early college students. “I just turned 17 and I’ve skipped two grades,” Rounds said. “If their schools can offer them this kind of program, I say go for it.”

Many early college students decided to ‘go for it’ because the program offers incentives like small class size. This allows the teachers and administrators to “really get to know the students as people,” said Burks.

For some of the students, this one-on-one attention is a vast change from the environments at their sender schools.

“They really care here whether you are learning or not,” Hackett said. “At Page it was just however you could get by and still make your A.”

Any traditional students who would like to learn more about the Early Cllege program, or voice concerns about it, are invited by Burks to attend one of two open forums. They will be held in the George White house from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 and Sept. 24.