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Cumberland County is getting a second early college high school that will focus on language and global culture.

The school is proposed to meet a desperate need for multilingual, culturally literate professionals that was among the needs highlighted at an educational summit at Fayetteville State University on Monday.

The Early College for Language and Diplomacy will be run by Cumberland County schools and housed at Fayetteville Technical Community College, Superintendent Frank Till Jr. said.

Till said the school proposal is in its infancy and might have to be phased in over time. He said that process could begin as early as the 2011-12 academic year, if the necessary resources can be found.

"A lot of people are talking about it," Till said. "We're having the right conversations."

Some of those conversations involve the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, where 17 languages are taught. The center's Col. Paul Burton has met with Till about collaborating in the school project.

The need for the school was laid bare during Monday's event, a regional meeting of the N.C. Joining Our Businesses and Schools Commission. Made up of lawmakers and leaders from education and business and led by Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton, the panel was created last year to help make sure early college high school programs match up with economic development trends.

In the past five years, North Carolina's exports have risen by 28 percent to some $25 billion, said Larry Keen, president of Fayetteville Tech. During that time, China has risen from fifth to second among the countries the state trades with the most, Keen said. But while 400 million people in China speak English - more than the entire U.S. population - the number of Chinese-speaking Americans is meager.

Cumberland County's diversity, with more than 60 languages spoken in its homes, makes it well placed for such a school, Till said.

"We have to begin focusing on global communication skills," he said.

Monday's meeting also saw a panel of business leaders stress the need for graduates in the areas of science, engineering, technology and math (known by the collective acronym STEM in education circles) to fill jobs in defense technology and bio-technology that base realignment is expected to bring to the area in the next five years.

Early college programs allow students to earn enough college credits alongside high school studies to give them a two-year head start upon graduation.

During Monday's meeting, the commission heard testimony from students at Cross Creek Early College High School, which has 251 students and is housed at Fayetteville State.

Those students had heady praise for the environment and teacher support they found there.

"They made sure I had everything I needed to succeed," said ninth-grader Lashay Hicks. "It's not just books and pencils you need to succeed. You need to be happy. ... Cross Creek did that for me."