The University of Dayton campus might house more schools than you think.

There's Arts & Sciences, Business, Education & Allied Professions and Engineering. Hopefully you knew those.

And then there's DECA.

The Dayton Early College Academy has called the UD campus its home for the past two years.

As it enters its third year, this school for first-generation college students continues its program of outreach to low-income students.

The school is located in the College Park Center on Brown Street, formerly an NCR building.

Its mission is simple. DECA aims to 'provide an individualized learning experience for every kid' so he or she can be better prepared for college, DECA media adviser P. R. Frank said. It strives to give low-income and minority students a reasonable chance to achieve success in high school and beyond.

Frank estimated DECA attendance is over 230 students.

Frank credits UD Dean of Education Thomas Lasley for the creation of DECA. The idea was to provide career-based internships and opportunities for Dayton public school students.

Students at DECA take both high school and college classes, according to its Web site.

Since the beginning of DECA, UD students and faculty have played a large role in the education of its students.

'It's a Big Brother/Big Sister type thing,' Frank said.

UD students serve as mentors and tutors, and UD faculty also serve as tutors. DECA also receives tech help from UD students.

While the typical high school has four grade levels'and most students spend one year per level'DECA's arrangement is different.

In what it calls a 'personalized learning plan,' students, teachers, advisers, and parents agree on a student's learning goals, strengths and challenges, DECA's Web site said.

Students are expected to pass through six personalized 'gateways' in place of advancing through grade levels. These gateways, determined by student and adviser agreement, are not limited to academic goals.

One of the more unusual requirements DECA asks of its students is community service.

DECA students spent hundreds of hours with community organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Walk for Women's Wellness, as well as educational programs.

Frank said the students can find their own service opportunities or ask faculty for ideas. A student must report a certain number of service hours to pass to the next level in DECA.

Although its history is brief, DECA has risen to the forefront in its field.

Last year, DECA students in grades 9 and 10 (LOOK UP) completed more than 60 college courses at UD and Sinclair Community College.

In February, a nonprofit organization called WestEd named DECA one of the U.S.'s top five most innovative 'small-scale' high schools for its ability to reach low-income and minority students and to dramatically improve skills.

In addition, DECA was featured in the Sept. 14 issue of Christian Science Monitor as one of the nation's innovative high schools.

One group of students from DECA hopes to expand on its mission in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Ten of the students, accompanied by two teachers, plan to make the trip Oct. 5-9.

They will travel to Pascagoula, Miss., to help with cleanup efforts there.

Pascagoula, in Jackson County, sits along the Gulf of Mexico.

Traveling in a van'an 800-mile trip'the group will journey to the city of 26,000 inhabitants where, according to news reports, 18 died and 25,000 were displaced.

Once there, the students will be 'distributing goods, shoveling mud, cleaning up debris and helping with landscaping,' according to Judy Hennessey, DECA's principal.

'I think it might be a life-changing experience for the kids,' she said.

The group will camp in tents and eat its meals at Eastlawn United Methodist Church in Pascagoula.

The two adults who plan to join the students are Frank along with science teacher and emergency medical technician Tracy Martz.

According to Frank, the trip was the students' idea.

'When the students realized the deep impact of Katrina, they asked me if they could make a trip,' Frank said. 'One student said, 'I don't mind the bugs, the mud and the heat as long as I'm helping other people.''

Frank also said that DECA plans to record the trip in a short documentary, so that DECA students can recall the situation in the Gulf region and the changes they made.