About Our School

The Charlotte Engineering Early College (CEEC) opened in August of 2014.  CEEC serves CMS high school students in grades 9-13 with a focus on the engineering disciplines.  CEEC is a small public school of choice; a joint project between the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

The early college model allows students the opportunity to take college courses at UNC Charlotte as well as the courses required to earn a high school diploma over a five-year period.  Most students will spend the first two years in the program completing their high school requirements in a school building located on the campus of UNC Charlotte.  The final three years of the program will offer a blend of high school and college courses to prepare students to enter college with up to 60 hours of transferrable college credit. 

STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.  These fields are increasingly important to finding solutions to sustaining our planet.  With an increased focus on STEM education and innovation, our school will help the Mecklenburg County area and nation prepare for the future and allow our students to be more competitive in the global economy.  It is essential that students who come to our program are highly interested in engineering and have a strong desire to attend college. 

CEEC is a small school by design, allowing our staff to provide a highly supportive and academically challenging learning environment for all students.  We offer a full Honors curriculum and college courses emphasizing problem-based learning in all classes.  A high school CTE course uses the Project Lead the Way Curriculum.  We are also a National Academy Foundation Distinguished Academy of Engineering.  During the five-year program, students have the opportunity to participate in work-based learning, job shadowing and internships. 

Students are selected for the Charlotte Engineering Early College using the CMS School Option Lottery process.  The lottery process for the 2022-23 school year has closed. The lottery to be admitted in the fall of 2023 will begin in December of 2022.  75 new 9th grade students will begin their journey towards an engineering career in August of 2023.  Rising 10th grade students are admitted during the fall if seats become available.

For more information about the Charlotte Engineering Early College, please contact Will Leach at 980-343-9898 or will.leach@cms.k12.nc.us.