RICHLAND TWO AVID EARLY COLLEGE

“Earn College Credits While in High School”

Just think about earning college credit while in high school without the tuition bills. Rising ninth graders residing in Richland School District Two may be eligible to earn up to two (2) years of college credits from the University of South Carolina - Sumter. The Richland Two AVID Early College started their cohort of freshmen beginning in the 2017-18 school year.

The AVID Early College is open to students who are willing to become part of the AVID class for all four years of high school. Eligibility will be determined through a number of factors to include eighth grade PSAT score (if taken) or MAP and Lexile scores. The Richland Two AVID Early College was established and is still housed at Ridge View High School. Rising ninth graders can apply now regardless of their attendance zone or magnet school selections.

The Richland Two AVID Early College is offered in partnership with UofSC - Sumter, and students have the potential to graduate high school to start college as a second-semester sophomore or first-semester junior. Completion of the coursework will require strict adhesion to the four-year plan for completion of all courses and will require summer courses in the summer before their Junior and Senior years. Early Bird classes may be required some semesters. Furthermore, students in the Early College may have a difficult time scheduling to take Fine Arts electives (e.g. Chorus, Orchestra, & Band). Students in the Early College will not take any Advanced Placement (AP) classes but will instead take dual-credit courses with UofSC and Richland Two faculty. With the credits from the University of South Carolina, accepted students may transfer to a public state college or university as a junior (depending on your major).

Our goal in offering the AVID Early College is to pave a realistic and more affordable pathway to a four-year college degree for students who may consider college and the expenses associated with college out of their reach. Students in the AVID Early College will take rigorous coursework and will benefit from college and career planning and academic coaching through the AVID class. There is NO cost to district students who attend except for textbooks. Funds to pay UofSC - Sumter are being provided by the SC Lottery system and use of these funds does not take away from a student’s ability to use four years of lottery funding after high school. Using these funds does require that a student in the Early College maintain a 3.0 GPA or future use of lottery funds is forfeited.

Accepted students will attend high school at Ridge View High School. AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination and is a college-readiness system that prepares students for success in high school, college, and careers.

Freshmen year courses (all semester-long except AVID):

• AVID 1

• English 1 Honors

• Algebra 1

• Spanish 1

• Biology 1 Honors

• English 2 Honors

• Geometry Honors

• Personal Health & Wellness (online VirtualSC)

• Physical Education (online VirtualSC)

Sophomore year courses (all semester-long except AVID):

• AVID 2

• English 3 Honors

• Spanish 2

• Creative Writing

• Algebra 2 Honors

• Physics 1

• Chemistry 1 Honors

• Economics Honors

Summer semester after sophomore year:

• CSCE 102 - General Applications Programming

• BIOL 110L - General Biology w/ LAB

Junior year courses (all semester-long except AVID):

• AVID 3

• Pre-Calculus

• HIST 111 - United States History to 1865

• POLI 201 - American Government

• ARTE 101 - Introduction to Art

• ENGL 101 - Critical Reading and Composition

• MUSC 110 - Introduction to Music

• SPAN 109 - Beginning Spanish I

• HIST 112 - United States History from 1865

Summer semester after junior year:

• THEA 170 - Fundamentals of Acting

• SOCY 101 - Introductory Sociology

Senior year courses (all semester-long except AVID):

• AVID 4

• ENGL 102 - Rhetoric and Composition

• SPCH 140 - Public Communication

• PSYC 101 - Introduction to Psychology

• SPAN 110 - Beginning Spanish II

• CHEM 111 - General Chemistry I

• JOUR 101 - Media and Society

• THEA 200 - Understanding and Appreciation of Theatre

• ANTH 102 - Understanding Other Cultures

• ECON 224 - Introduction to Economics

Students who are entering the 9th grade in Richland Two for the 2022-2023 school year will be able to apply starting Monday, January 3rd, 2022. The first round of interviews will then take place between February 28th and March 11th with the first group of eligible students notified in mid-March. Interviews will continue until the cohort of twenty-five (25) students has been filled.

The application will become available online on January 3rd, 2022.

Teacher recommendations are being accepted now.

Please see the Richland School District Two website for more details.