Promotion/Retention Standards

Students enter the Early College after completing the 8^th grade. In order to progress to the next grade level, a student must earn units as stipulated below:

Tenth Grade Student must have earned 6 credits

Eleventh Grade Student must have earned 12 credits (including English II)

Twelfth Grade Student must have earned 20 credits (including Biology and Math I)

Thirteenth Grade Student must have earned 28 credits (including English III and Math III)

NC Future Ready Core Graduation Requirements

All students must complete the new Future Ready Core Curriculum program of study in order to receive a high school diploma. This program of study is required of all North Carolina graduates. Students that repeatedly fail courses risk having to transfer to the traditional high school to earn diploma.

Parent/Teacher Conferences

The principal or a teacher may request a conference at any time with the parent/guardian to discuss the progress or concerns of the student. Conferences are highly recommended because they are beneficial to the student, parent/guardian, and teacher.

Parents may call the school to schedule a conference with a teacher at any time during the school year. The teacher will consult with the student’s remaining high school teachers and schedule a time that is convenient for the teachers and parent/guardian.

Conferences with all of a student’s high school teachers/administration may be made by contacting the school counselor at 252-738-3649.

Concerns relating to a student’s college course(s) should be directed to the college liaison at 252-738-3611 or 919-496-1567.

College Courses and Placement

College courses may only be taken and dropped with approval by the school counselor, community college liaison and the principal. College classes and materials are provided free to students. Students completing college classes at an acceptable level will receive both high school and college credit. All Early College students are expected to complete college courses as part of their high school and college graduation requirements.

We have seven teachers for the high school and we're only allowed to give college courses that will transfer under the (UGETC- Universal General Education Transfer Component ) rules. Some of the college classes are also used to meet the high school requirements. The science degree adds more Math and Science than the Arts degree.

Early Graduation

Students that fulfill graduation requirements prior to the spring semester of their sophomore year and wish to be considered as an graduate (complete program in four instead of five) must request an application from the school counselor and complete by date designated. Final approval will be determined by the principal, college liaison and school counselor. A conference may be requested. Upon final approval by the principal, the student plan of study would be altered to reflect summer courses and additional classes each semester to fast tract student's process. Student must be experiencing success at the high school and in college classes. Students designated as an early graduate are welcome to participate in all ECHS sponsored graduation activities.

Future-Ready Core Course of Study

Units:

4 English (I, II, III, IV or a designated combination of 4 courses)

1 English Composition (completed in sophomore year)

4 Mathematics (Math I, II, III, 4th math course is to be aligned with the student's post high school plans)

3 Science (A physical science course, Biology, Earth/Environmental )

4 Social Studies (World History, Civics & Economics, and American History I & II)

1 Healthful & Physical Education (Health/Physical Education)

11 Electives (example: CTE, Arts Education, World Languages)

28 Total Minimum Credits

Class Rank and Grade Point Average

Class rank is based upon weighted grade point average (GPA).

College classes earn 1 additional quality point towards GPA.

Honors classes earn an additional .5 quality point towards GPA.

90-100 = A (4.0 points)

80-89 = B (3.0 points)

70-79 = C (2.0 points)

60-69 = D (1.0 points)

Below 60 = F (0.0 points)

Honor Roll

Early College High School recognizes students with high academic achievement during each nine-week grading period. Students may earn inclusion on the “A” Honor Roll or the “A/B” Honor Roll. To qualify for the “A” Honor Roll a student must have grades of 90 or above in all of his/her classes with no incomplete grades. To qualify for the “A/B” Honor Roll a student must have grades of 80 or above in all of his/her classes with no incomplete grades. For the purposes of understanding the A/B Honor Roll classification the following marking system will be used:

90-100 = A

80-89 = B

77-79 = C

60-69 = D

60 and below = F

Report Cards/Progress Reports

Students can access their grades through PowerSchool on a daily basis. Parents can create an account through the PowerSchool Parent Portal to access his or her child's grades.

Report cards will be printed at the end of each nine weeks grading period. In addition, interim progress reports are sent home on the third week of each nine weeks grading periods. In some cases students may not have completed all of the work required by a teacher due to student absences or other reasons. In this situation, students will receive a grade based on actual work done with zeroes averaged in for any incomplete work. The teacher may change this grade after all requirements for the grading period have been satisfactorily met.

Report Card Pick-Up

At the end of the 1^st nine-weeks grading period each semester, parents may be asked to pick up student report cards from the school. Teachers will be available for conferences on these dates. Report cards will be sent home with students at the end of the first semester.

Grading

A student’s final grade in each course is determined by averaging the two nine weeks grades and the final exam. Final exams count as 25% of the student's final grade.

DMV/License Revocation

Students under the age of 18 must pass a minimum of 3 out of 4 classes each semester and be in attendance the required number of days to be eligible to continue to hold a limited driver’s license. Students who fail more than one course in a semester and miss more than 10 days during the semester will have their license revoked.

Academic eligibility for North Carolina Driver’s License

In accordance with North Carolina House Bill 769, all students who have a driving permit/license issued under the Graduated Driver’s License guidelines must maintain adequate academic progress in order to keep their permit/license. Failure to maintain academic progress constitutes failing 25% or more of the classes at the semester level or dropping out of school.

The legislation requires that a student’s driving permit or license be revoked if a student is unable to maintain adequate progress or drops out of school. Adequate progress is defined as passing 75% of all courses and is determined by first semester grades and second semester grades for school on block scheduling.

In rare instances, there may be circumstances beyond the control of the student or parent that qualify as a hardship. If a hardship exists, the student may request a waiver. If the waiver is granted, the student would not be affected by the legislation.

Retention of Diplomas

No diploma will be issued to any student who is delinquent in the payment of required school fees or damage fees.

High School Math Sequence

The math sequences a student takes is determined by the course they have taken prior to entering ninth grade. Traditionally, most students take Math I, Math II, Math III and an advanced math. If a student enters ninth grade taking Math II, they will need more advanced math courses to satisfy the math requirements. These additional courses will be determined in partnership with the math teacher, guidance counselor and student.

Apex

Apex is our online tool used for academic learning. Students that are assigned an APEX course must follow the due dates and guidelines established. Due to students receiving course credit for the class they will need to adhere to the same guidelines they would for a face-to-face class.

Athletic Participation

Students enrolled at the Early College are allowed to participate in sports at the high school in their attendance zone. Students must have passed 80% of their classes the preceding semester and been in attendance at least 85% of the semester. Students must meet promotion requirements at the end of spring semester to be eligible for participation during the next fall semester.

Academic Day/School Days

The student’s academic day begins at 8:30 and ends at 2:30. Students should not be dropped off before 7:30 a.m. unless they are in a supervised situation approved by a teacher or administration. School office hours will be between the hours of 7:30 and 4:00. We cannot guarantee supervision outside of that time frame. Students will be outside after 2:30 p.m. after school to wait for parent pickup unless there is inclement weather. Tutoring in most cases will end by 3:30pm.

DISCIPLINARY ACTION

Disciplinary action includes an expulsion, a suspension for more than 10 consecutive days, or an assignment to an alternative educational setting for more than 10 consecutive days. (§ 20-11(n1))

Under the Lose Control/Lose License guidelines, the Driving Eligibility Certificate is revoked for one year. Unlike the Dropout Prevention guidelines that end when a student turns age 18, the revocation of a Driving Eligibility Certificate for disciplinary action can extend beyond age 18 if the disciplinary action took place during the time the student was age 17.

NOT MAKING ADEQUATE ACADEMIC PROGRESS

At the end of each semester, students not passing 70% of the maximum possible courses are identified. Parents are notified that the student is not making adequate academic progress and have the option of submitting a hardship request to the principal or principal's designee to maintain the student's driving eligibility status.