VHTPA History

In 2002, Los Angeles Harbor College and Local District 8 of the Los Angeles Unified School District collaborated to createthe Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy (VHTPA), a four year Early College high school located on the campus of Harbor College. VHTPA is a Western Association of Schools and Colleges a accredited school where students can simultaneously earn a high school diploma and an Associated of Arts degree. VHTPA is the first established Early College / Middle College High School in the nation with the largest percentage of students earning both a high school and college diploma. Primary goals in the design of the program are to increase the graduation rate and college enrollment of at-risk; highly capable students and to address the teacher shortage in Local District 8 by fostering potential in students interested in becoming teachers. The VHTPA student body includes students with high potential, including those who experience barriers to success such as single-parent households, a primary language other than English, low income households, and other common obstacles to achievement. The program nurtures these students in a protected cohort by placing the high school classes on a college campus and by enrolling them into appropriate college courses designed to further their education while raising self-esteem through successful completion of course work at the college level.