Fall 26 New Student Info and FAQ

Welcome to ECHS!

We are so happy to have you with us next year. As there is a lot of information, we are creating two landing spots for new students and parents to access information. This is the first and will be where we post updated FAQ info. The second is our website. We have created a section for new students where they can access documents and other important information. We will update this website with important paperwork and information prior to your registration meeting in June.

Here is a direct link: https://echs.beaverton.k12.or.us/academics/new-students

The path is our main page >Academics>New Students

You might notice in your MyPCC account that PCC has assigned you to a campus. PCC assigns campuses to students based on their home zip code. You can ignore any campus assignment that PCC lists.

ECHS assigned you to either Rock Creek or Sylvania. Any campus that PCC lists does not change your registration in any way and does not change your ECHS assigned campus.

PCC places a hold on all student accounts until you have gone through our registration meeting, your paperwork, and your G# has been processed in their system. Holds will be removed after you have attended your Registration Meeting in June and completed the PCC online orientation.

A: We will go into more detail on this during our Registration/Orientation meeting and in our student orientation in the Fall, but here is a quick overview. ECHS is a program, not a school, and our staff are employees of the Beaverton School District. Students are cross-enrolled in ECHS and their home high school while attending ECHS

-TTSD/SHSD students are cross-enrolled with their current high school

-BSD students are cross-enrolled with their current high school whether, this is a neighborhood high school or an Option School.

-Home Schooled or Private School Students – you will enroll in your neighborhood high school this summer, after your semester 2 grades are complete, and you will then be cross-enrolled in that school in August.

ECHS students can participate in after-school events and activities at their cross-enrolled high schools (athletics, after-school activities, and events like dances and proms). Students keep their student ID numbers when they join ECHS, but it is important for students and families to know that limited announcements and information come to ECHS from cross-enrolled high schools, so students need to monitor their district email, Canvas pages, websites, etc. Due to state funding guidelines, students cannot take classes during the school day at their cross-enrolled high school.

One of the biggest shifts moving from your current school to ECHS is that in college, students are held to adult expectations by PCC, and our students are treated like any other student on the PCC campus.

• All communication at the college level can only go to the student.
• Professors can only communicate directly with students about grades and progress.
• Professors will not communicate directly with parents if they have questions about grades or student progress.
• ECHS is here to help and be a guide, but our students have a great deal more responsibility on their shoulders in this program than in their high schools. Students and parents can prepare for this shift now.

One significant shift we discuss in our required courses is that students need to be their own advocates; they need to become comfortable emailing and meeting with their professors or our staff when they need help, and they need to learn how to navigate the PCC system on their own. So, along those lines, if families have questions about this program, students should be the ones to email our staff. Parents must not be the only ones reading this FAQ, because it is our students who are held accountable for this information. Students need to be the ones checking their email over the summer for updates and responding to those updates. They need to be the ones to know how to sign up for classes on their own, etc., etc.

Parents, you are the most important people in your students' lives, and you will continue to be their biggest source of support. However, now is the time when they need to take ownership and are ultimately responsible for following through on their commitments and their learning.

Before each term, students have a meeting with their counselor to select courses and ensure that they are completing their high school requirements. At the end of each term, ECHS supplies BSD TTSD, or SHSD with your student’s PCC transcript, grades, and credits that are are applied to the home high school transcript. Because high schools are on a semester credit system, and colleges are on a credit hour system, there is a conversion that school districts use to convert the credits.

College Credits:

1 Credit class = .25 HS Credits

1 Credit PE class = .5 HS Credits

2, 3, 4 Credit Class = .5 HS Credits

5 + Credit class = 1.0 HS Credits

There are several reasons why students do not or choose not to earn their AA degree.

1) Entry math course- students need to earn a certain number of math credits above Math 95 to earn their AA degree. If students start at a lower math course, they cannot complete the math sequence in 6 college terms.

2) College acceptances and programs: Senior year, most of our students going directly to a 4-year school, focusing on taking courses that will match particular 4-year programs. These do not always match the required courses needed for the AA degree.

ECHS supports students who are interested in earning their AA degree; however, what is most important is that our students establish their goals, dreams, and interests.

Private schools make their own admissions decisions, and families should contact those schools about their timelines for a possible return.

Options schools within the Beaverton School District (ACMA, BASE, ISB, Community School, FLEX): Students have until August 1st to change their mind about admission to ECHS and return to their Option School. After that date, your seat in your option school will be filled, and you will return to your neighborhood high school.

ECHS only pays for classes during the Fall, Winter and Spring Terms.

For those students who are willing to pay for courses on their own, we do not recommend that new students take a summer course at PCC before they are enrolled in ECHS.

Depending on the course, there can be a very big difference in expectations between high school and college. We help students navigate through these differences in our Orientation course, CG101/102, which new students will take in their first term. College classes are more condensed and move at a faster pace than high school courses; however, PCC summer courses are a week shorter than Fall, Winter, and Spring. As there are fewer students on campus, there is less academic support in the Student Learning Center, our staff is not on campus, so there is no support from our program. Finally, Summer courses tend to be taught by less tenured instructors.

We have had students who have been successful taking a class over the summer, but we have also had students who took a class and struggled, and it put them behind coming into the program.

Q: Can I use my own computer/iPad/other device?

A: Yes, a personal laptop or tablet will work for your classes as long as it has a keyboard. You will not be able to use a cell phone in place of a computer or tablet with a keyboard.

• Any PE courses in the “Swimming” Category.
• Any PE courses that are Ski/Snowboarding Lesson Category.
• Intro to Rock Climbing, Rock Climbing 1 (PE 199D)

• PE183A Beginning Hiking

• PE184P Advanced Hiking

Courses Requiring Parent Permission:

• Life Drawing: (Art 237 A, Art 237 B, Art 237 C) – See counselor for permission slip.
• Life Painting: (Art 277A, Art 277B, Art 277C) – See Counselor for permission slip.
• Evening Courses – any course that starts after 5 pm. A permission slip is only needed if an evening course is offered in person in the Fall.

Courses with Fees that ECHS does not pay for:

Any courses that have private lessons: ECHS can pay for the class, but not the private lesson fees. There are some Language classes or Music classes that include private lessons, for example:

• Private Music Lessons: https://www.pcc.edu/programs/music/private-lessons.html Students who choose to take one of these courses are responsible for the $250 (1 credit) or $500 (2 credits) fee associated with these courses.