Early College High School (Costa Mesa, California)
| NMUSD/CCC Early College High School | |
| Established | 2006 |
| School type | Public |
| Principal | Kathy Slawson |
| Location | Costa Mesa, California |
| Enrollment | up to 400 |
| Colors | Light blue/Black/White |
| Homepage | ECHS |
The Early College High School Initiative
Early College High Schools compress the time it takes to complete a high school diploma and the first two years of college. They are small schools from which students graduate with not only a high school diploma but also an associate’s degree or up to two years of college credit toward a bachelor’s degree.
By changing the structure of the high school years and compressing the number of years to achieve a college degree, Early College High Schools attempt to improve graduation rates and better prepare students for entry into high-skill careers.
The History of N-MUSD/CCC Early College High School
Early College High School, otherwise known as "ECHS", is a collaborative effort between the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Coastline Community College. It is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located at 2990 Mesa Verde Drive East in the Mesa Verde neighborhood of Costa Mesa, California, on the former site of Mesa Verde Elementary School. Previously ECHS was on the Backbay / Monte Vista High School Campus.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District and Coastline Community College opened Early College High School in August 2006. ECHS is an academic program intended to enable students to pursue post-secondary education at a community college, four-year college or university.
Students are offered not only the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and meet university entrance requirements, but they also take college courses for which they receive college units through concurrent enrollment.
ECHS has a maximum population of one hundred students per grade level, allowing for smaller class sizes, frequent opportunities for individual participation, and personalized attention from faculty and staff.
In 2013, Coastline and Early College parted ways and now the High school is partnered with Marymount University and University of California Irvine.
References
- School web page
- http://www.earlycolleges.org/ Early College High School Initiative
- http://coastline.cccd.edu/ Coastline Community College
- http://www.nmusd.us/ Newport Mesa Unified School District
Coordinates: 33°40′50″N 117°55′40″W / 33.680615°N 117.927801°W