Tracey K. Hurst

Tracey K. Hurst currently works as an educational consultant focusing on research-based practices to accelerate instruction in order to truly prepare students for college. With the Early College High School and P-Tech models gaining increased popularity, the work is more relevant than ever. Both models focus on students earning an associate's degree while still in high school, and in the urban settings, many of the students will be first-generation college-goers. So the task is greater than that faced by a traditional high school, and the time frame is cut in half (with students taking mostly college classes during their junior and senior years in high school). Students who do not earn the degree still have a significant number of college credits and are well on their way to completion.

Initially, Mrs. Hurst worked with colleague, Dr. Patricia E. Uribe, to develop a guidebook series to help school districts and charter schools interested in opening an Early College High School. Leaders who have used the series often comment on reading it before opening, and then reading again after opening when the theoretical has become reality.

In response to repeated requests from principals and teachers, Mrs. Hurst began development of a support curriculum for students designed to meet the unique needs of the early college and P-Tech. The Best Version of You! provides guidance on habits, behaviors, and academic skills, while the second book in the series focuses on how to survive and learn in collaborative groups. Both are used in study skills courses to guide discussion and learning. Book 3 is due out in 2019.

Mrs. Hurst lives in North Texas and provides design and instruction expertise to Early Colleges and traditional schools in the Dallas and Houston areas, and occasionally other parts of the State. In addition to the numerous early college high schools she has worked with, her experience as an advanced academics director in a suburban district provides a comprehensive college-readiness focus at all schools where she works.

The shift from writing for professionals to writing the self-help books for students has fulfilled a need to reconnect directly with students. By including students in the review process, Mrs. Hurst hopes to provide the best possible information in both the ECHS Student Guidebook Series as well as the new The High School Success Series (designed for traditional high school students).

Finally, a need that has developed includes customized planners which are for sale on Amazon. After schools design and distribute their planners, students who lose their planners have the opportunity to replace them through Amazon.