Harford County Public Schools will add an early college program at Swan Creek School beginning next academic year, according to a Wednesday announcement on the school district’s website.

The Early College at Swan Creek will be a virtual magnet program that blends high school and college coursework. Students will finish the program with a high school diploma and an associate degree. The program is in partnership with Harford Community College.

Students who enroll in the early college program can choose to pursue either an Associate of Science in psychology or an Associate of Arts in general studies with a certificate in accounting, business administration or data science.

“At Swan Creek, part of the goal is to have this option for students who are homeschooled and might want to come and take advantage of that opportunity,” said Katie Ridgway, chief of staff for Harford County Public Schools.

Fully homeschooled students interested in the program would have to give up homeschooling and enroll as HCPS students to participate.

The early college program is the latest magnet program offered through HCPS. Other programs include Pathways in Technology Early College High School at Joppatowne High School and Teacher Academy of Maryland at Edgewood and North Harford high schools.

Funding for the early college program at Swan Creek depends on enrollment, HCPS Superintendent Sean Bulson said.

“Any program that we offer, the students who are enrolled essentially pay for the program,” he said. “While it will be open to any of our existing students … every student who joins, the school system gets funding to pay for that.”

On top of per-pupil funding, Ridgway said the district will receive money from the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future to be used for dual enrollment, among other things, to help students become college- and career-ready.

Coursework for the early college program will be completed online. HCPS classes will be synchronous and taught live by teachers. The community college classes will be asynchronous.

College tuition, books and fees are free for magnet students, according to HCPS. Students will be required to report to Swan Creek in Aberdeen for all required state tests.

Swan Creek first opened during the 2021-2022 school year. It is a blended virtual learning program that was created to provide Harford students and families an alternative learning environment.

The school system will be hosting an information session on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Bel Air High School for families to learn more. For families unable to attend, there will be a Parent Academy virtual event. A date for the event has yet to be announced.

Have a news tip? Contact Shaela Foster at sfoster@baltsun.com or 443-826-5894.