The Outer Banks, N.C., will celebrate a finished school building this month. Dare County and Dare County Schools welcome the public to a 10 a.m. ribbon cutting for the new Dare Early College campus on Monday, Nov. 23, held outside beside the Dare campus of College of The Albemarle in Manteo, where the address is 205 U.S. 64.
Remarks are planned from county and school officials and from a representative of the North Carolina Education Lottery, and an open house will follow so visitors can tour the building.
The two-story building covers 25,735 square feet and is designed for up to 300 students. County officials describe a smaller, more personal learning environment modeled on a traditional college. Inside are extra classrooms, science labs, offices for administrators and a main lobby offering grab-and-go meals, a setup meant to get students mingling and working together.
Students are scheduled to move over after winter break, with the first classes at the new campus on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027.
Dare Early College is in its second school year and recently earned an A performance grade for 2025-26, based on student growth and proficiency. It is part of North Carolina’s Cooperative Innovative High School program, which lets students take high school and college coursework together.
Every course is taught at the honors level. The model aims to ready students for higher education and jobs, and they can graduate with a career certification or an associate degree on top of their diploma, free of charge.
The new building sits beside the College of the Albemarle’s Dare campus in Manteo, which is one of the county’s listed colleges, and Dare County Schools is among the Outer Banks’ largest employers.
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