Weekly Update

En español / Procedimientos del Fraser Campus de Early College

All students and staff will remain on the Palmer Campus until a new timeline to open the Fraser Campus can be determined.

Jan. 13th | TTC Full Spring & Spring 1 Classes Start

Jan. 14th | Fire Drill @ 1:10

Jan. 17th | Friday Bell Schedule (clubs)

Jan. 20th | MLK Holiday (No School)

Jan. 24th | Friday Bell Schedule (clubs)

Jan. 31st | Friday Bell Schedule (clubs)

Feb. 3rd | Bus Evacuation Drill

Feb. 4th | Lockdown Drill @ 11:35

Feb. 7th | Friday Bell Schedule (clubs)

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New Building Updates - Early College High School at Wilmot J. Fraser Campus

Address: 63 Columbus Street, Charleston, SC 29403

The ECHS Fraser Campus will not open to students on January 6th! A new date will be set following OSF inspections in the coming days. Thank you for your patience and understanding during this process.

Important Dates:

Early College Fraser Campus Procedures: Please note that a few small changes may be made to this document. I will include updates regarding the opening of the Fraser Campus as I receive them!

Please encourage potentially eligible students to apply today and earn up to $40,000 for college!

Scholarship Eligibility

We have five simple criteria for eligibility—no essays required! Every applicant who meets these criteria will qualify for an award. To review our requirements, click here.

Application Requirements

To complete our application form, students are asked to upload two documents: (1) an unofficial, up-to-date high school transcript and (2) their FAFSA Submission Summary. The FAFSA Submission Summary is available 3-5 business days after students submit their FAFSA form.

Application Deadline

Our application will be open until mid-June, but we encourage students to apply early to make informed decisions about their college choices. However, we understand that some students may not be able to apply until later this spring.

The Charleston Half Marathon, 5K, and Youth Marathon

This year's event is happening on Sat., Jan. 25, 2025 at the RiverDogs stadium and we need volunteers, including 1 paid position! This is an easy and FUN opportunity for your students to earn service hours!

We need volunteers to help with packet pick up on Fri, Jan. 24, and need volunteers for general help on Race Day (6 AM - 12 PM - shifts are available). Organizations/schools who have 25 or more volunteers will receive $250!

Sign up here -> https://charlestonhalfmarathon.com/volunteers/

We have a PAID position for someone to be our mascot, Art Powers! The mascot will need to be present for the entire event - 6 AM - 12 PM on 1.25.25 - and will receive $200. There is a height requirement for the costume of 5'4" - 5'8". This person needs to be high energy and able to keep the crowd excited! If you know someone who may be interested, please contact me directly. (We also need a volunteer to accompany the mascot throughout the event - this position is unpaid, but could be fun for a couple high school friends to do!)

The CCSD Board of Trustees has approved policy JICJ which prohibits all personal electronic devices during the school day. Starting January 6th, 2025, students must keep all personal electronic devices turned off and stored during school hours. This includes cell phones, smartwatches, gaming devices, headphones, and earbuds. Students may no longer use personal tablets and computers.

Please note, that the school day is defined as the time students enter the building until dismissal. Cell phones and other personal electronic devices (smartwatches, earbuds, headphones, etc.) are prohibited during class, transitions, and lunch.

ECHS will provide cell phone lock boxes for 9th and 10th grade students. Cell phones will be locked in students' homerooms and returned during afternoon homeroom. 11th and 12th grade students will need to securely store their cell phones in their backpacks or cell phone parking lots.

All cell phones and other personal electronic devices are to be powered off upon entering the building.

Disciplinary consequences for the use of personal electronic devices during the school day can be found on page 6 of the CCSD Progressive Discipline Plan. Students' phones will not be returned without a parent conference following the 2nd offense for violating the cell phone policy.

College Decisions & Mid-Year Transcripts

College decisions have started rolling in, which is a very exciting time of year for our students! Colleges do not communicate directly with schools about admissions decisions, so please have your student let us know of any college acceptances and accompanying scholarships they receive. If your student has deferred, their mid-year transcript will need to be sent to the institution in mid-January when they become available. Students, you will need to complete the Transcript Request Form to have this information sent to your institution.

Palmetto Fellows Scholarship

Palmetto Fellows is one of SC's state-based scholarships. To qualify, students must have a 3.5 GPA, have ranked in the top 6% of their graduation class at the end of their sophomore, junior, or senior year, and have a 25 ACT or 1200 SAT. Superscores can be used to meet the testing requirement. If your or your student has taken a Saturday administration test and used a different account to register than what was used during your school day test, we do not have access to those scores. If you or your student thinks they may have met the test score criteria, please be in touch with Ms. Rainsford or Mrs. Cuttino so we can determine if the other criterias have been met. Students who qualify for this scholarship do have to complete an online application. Additional information about Palmetto Fellows can be found here. Please reach out with any questions!

The CHAMP Awards was created by Greg Blatt, Founder and Executive Director of Coaches for Character. This is the fourth year that Charleston County School District will be awarding the CHAMP Award to 8th and 12th grade students. This award is designed to honor true “Unsung Heroes” who all too often are not recognized for their accomplishments.

The selection process focuses on identifying and selecting students who often go unnoticed even though they have accomplished great things in their home, community, church or school. The criteria by which students are selected should be based on character, community service, academic effort, and overcoming odds.

The nomination period for the CHAMP Awards has started!

Nominations will be open until February 21st, 2025

Here is the link to the nomination form:

CHAMP Awards Nomination 2025

The 25-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for is now open! All students are strongly encouraged to apply sooner rather than later.

If a student already has an FSA ID (and it's verified) and their 2023 federal tax returns, they can go into the 2025-2026 FAFSA and complete and submit the form. Ms. Susan Martin of Trident Tech will be on the Palmer Campus on Mondays and Tuesday to assist students.

Please feel free to email Ms. Martin at susan.martin@tridenttech.edu for assistance.

Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) meetings for the 24-25 school year have begun! These annual meetings are held with you, your student, and the school counselor to discuss current academics, future goals and college and career plans.

Parents/guardians, please follow the below link for an appointment slot:

Student's with last names that begin with A-L: Ms. Cuttino IGP Sign Up

Student's with last names that begin with M-Z: Ms. Rainsford IGP Sign Up

Dear Parents,

We have created a Parent Feedback Survey to gather your thoughts and input on our ECHS faculty. Your feedback is valuable in helping us improve and continue providing the best support for your child’s education.

Please take a moment to click the link below and share your feedback with us. We appreciate your time and insights! Your feedback is completely confidential and will guide us in making improvements that benefit our entire school community.

Please click the link below to share your thoughts. Thank you for your continued support.

Respectfully yours,

James Tomasello

Yearbook is proudly sponsoring a year-round Sticker and T-Shirt Personalization shop! You can locate flyers with more details on the school bulletin boards, and place your order by scanning the QR code at the bottom. You are also able to click this link that will take you directly to the order form as well. Stickers come in black or white, are matte, and easy to place or remove! If you have any questions or concerns, please email Ms. Grant at brenna_grant@charleston.k12.sc.us.

CANVAS - Allows parents to view student assignments, due dates, and teachers' lesson plans.

Parent Portal - Stay up to date with your student's grades, attendance, and assignments.

At ECHS, we respect the diversity of thought and believe in our students' rights to express themselves through the way they dress. We desire to create an inclusive, and welcoming environment where all students are safe, comfortable, and academically engaged. Consequently, Early College follows the CCSD Dress Code Policy, and students are expected to dress appropriately at all times. Violations of the dress code will be handled with respect and understanding. Severe violations of the dress code policy, however, will require students to change clothes. In these instances, ECHS Student Concern Specialists can provide students with a change of clothes.

General Rule = Clothing must cover areas from the neckline down to mid-thigh. Please see the CCSD Dress Code Policy for all guidelines regarding appropriate dress.

Parents,

Please make sure the clinic has any emergency medication and orders for your student ASAP. Field trips are being planned and your child will not be able to attend them without the nurses having the medication and the proper completed paperwork per CCSD protocol. If your child self carries their medication, there is a certain form that needs to be filled out by the MD, parent, and student before they can carry that medication.

If you have any questions about what is needed, please contact Nurse Varvaro or Nurse Horton at 843-720-5706. Please be aware that we no longer have a fax machine.

Please Note: Random drug and weapon searches are performed monthly and if a student is carrying emergency medications without a MD order, the medication will be confiscated. The medication will be locked in the clinic and a parent will have to pick the medication up from the clinic.

In order to meet the demands of nursing documentation, clinic management and the need to have confidential communication with parents, doctors, etc., the Clinic will close daily at 2:00pm EXCEPT FOR EMERGENCIES.

EMERGENCIES include, but are not limited to, diabetic issues, symptoms of asthma/trouble breathing, signs of an allergic reaction, vomiting and bleeding.

NON-EMERGENCIES include, but are not limited to, headaches, stomach aches, old injuries, superficial cuts that just need a band aid (teachers can request some).

Please contact Nurse Horton or Nurse Varvaro for any questions. REMEMBER, although the Clinic will be "closed" at 2:00pm, we are ALWAYS HERE!!!

We respectfully ask that students who are not feeling well be seen by Nurse Horton or Nurse Varvaro before calling a parent to pick them up.

Also, to ensure we are able to meet parent and student needs in a timely matter, we ask that students be signed out of the office no later that 2:00 pm.

The ECHS/CCSD Calendar Crosswalk is linked here. Please refer to the ECHS/CCSD Calendar Crosswalk for the correct date should you receive a PowerSchool notification for an absence.

If students obtained their driver's license over the summer break and plan on driving to school they can fill out the ECHS Parking Application Form. Students must submit a copy of their driver's license, car registration, and insurance card in order to pick up their parking tag. A pictures of these documents can be sent to sheena_thomas@charleston.k12.sc.us, or students can bring their original documents in and copies will be made in office 214C.

Returning student drivers will need to submit a new application and provide updated documentation in order to drive for the 24-25 school year.

AM Drop Off - The Palmer Campus opens to ECHS students at 7:25 each morning. Please do not drop students off before 7:25 am. An ECHS staff member will signal when morning drop begins. For student safety, students should be dropped off directly in front of the school.

IDs - All students have received a new ID and lanyard. IDs and ECHS-issued lanyards must be worn at all times while on campus. If a student forgets their ID, the student will need to pick up a temporary ID from their homeroom teacher or a Student Concern Specialist. On the third occurrence, students will be issued a new ID and will be charged $5. A second ID and lanyard will be provided to all students to start the spring semester.

If your student rides with Coastal Bus Line (routes 564, 565, or 567), please sign up for text alerts from REMIND. Text @cbl-ec20 to 81010.

Please see this link for a list of ECHS bus stops and pick up times.

ECHS utilizes CCSD magnet bus stops and transportation procedures. Student addresses are provided to the transportation office by ECHS. Bus stops are routed to centralized meeting points.

CCSD policy establishes that magnet stops are routed within 5 miles of the students' home addresses. Families, therefore, are responsible for getting students to and from stops.

The CCSD Bus Stop Locater is can be found at this link. ECHS and CCSD stops will be available for view on July 23rd. Once published, if you do not see a ECHS stop within five miles of your home address, please complete the form at this link.

Pro Tip: Students may ride any ECHS-designated bus to and from school.

If you have any bus-related complaints throughout the year, please use this link to log your complaint. This is the way that CCSD tracks bus issues and shares them with First Student.

When using the School Bus Locator, be sure to use the Magnet Bus Stops Near Me tab. Please se the picture below for reference.

Point of Contact: Mr. Tomasello at james_tomasello@charleston.k12.sc.us

Website: https://www.ccsdschools.com/earlycollege
Location: 66 Columbus Street suite 210a, Charleston, SC, USA
Phone: (843) 720-5701