by Kristen A. Graham

Emma Lien rose early Tuesday, then took a bus and a train from her home in the Northeast to begin her first day of college.

She’s 13.

Lien is one of 130 freshman at Parkway Center City Middle College High School, a Philadelphia School District magnet that’s affording students the opportunity to earn their high school diplomas and associate’s degrees from community college at the same time — free.