Graduate high school with a college degree! Incoming GHS freshmen can apply for Early College High School now.
If you’re a current 8th-grader starting 9th grade in the fall and you want to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree in engineering, Early College High School (ECHS) is the program for you!
ECHS is a school within a school at Greenville High School, and it is for students who want to embark on a learning journey that balances rigorous academic work with effective support systems.
Fall of 2020 will mark the third class of ECHS students, a small group of 25-30 students who go through the entire school day together. When they graduate as seniors, they will have spent four years together as a cohort. Many of them are also active in extracurricular activities, including athletics, band and the Flaming Flashes drill team.
“It’s amazing to see these kids helping each other and forming a family,” ECHS Chancellor Casey Chaney said. “Collaboration is one of the most fundamental things. The students work together in various teams, in tutoring, in notetaking and in developing study skills.”
Being able to graduate from high school with an associate’s degree sets these students apart from most high school graduates across the U.S. While they are all in the engineering pathway, their areas of study are both advanced and broad. For example, during their daily AVID classes, they also focus on communication. One recent unit emphasized current events, and students watched and discussed CNN10, which features three stories on various topics.
“It sparks such great conversation about what’s going on in the world,” teacher GISD Continuing Education Coordinator and teacher Rebekah Russler said. “We also look at articles and do summary responses and things like that, and it allows them to really dig into what they think about current issues. I think they’re all finding a stronger voice. It provides a different opportunity for connections in different content areas.”
GISD’s AVID and Early College High School programs are grant-funded.
To learn more, click HERE or email ECHS Chancellor Casey Chaney.
To apply, click HERE.
