High School October Newsletter (23–24)
Important Dates this Month
10/2: Enrollment for the 24–25 School Year Opens
10/3: 11th Grade Health Screening
10/4: PCO Meeting at 6 p.m. at the Middle School
10/5: 12th Grade Health Screening
10/6: ECS Spirit Day
10/11: ECHS Curriculum Night from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
10/12: Picture Day
10/12: HS Girls’ Volleyball Home Game at 6 p.m. at the All-American Fieldhouse Court
10/13: No School–Staff Planning Day
10/18: Board of Trustees Meeting at Middle at 6 p.m.
10/20: PCO Fall Festival
10/26: ECMS & ECHS Instrumental Showcase
10/27: Student Half Day, End of Quarter 1
11/1: PCO Meeting at Intermediate at 6 p.m.
11/3: ECS Spirit Day
Hey there ECHS community!
I’m not sure where the time is going but we have already made our way through September and are coming in HOT for October. We are well into Quarter 1 here at the high school, and despite the bumps and adjustments that come with a new school year (and adding 60 students to our community) we are settling in over here, and I must say I’m all for it. There are many updates and happenings taking place at ECHS, so please read on. I wanted to draw your attention to some amazing work that the staff at ECHS have begun to embark on as a community.
Last week, we started our staff crew book study on the brilliant and very relevant text Multiplication is for White People: Raising Expectations for Other People’s Children by the one and only Lisa Delpit (2012). Our Superintendent during August professional development week charged us with cultivating and sustaining spaces where Academic Equity is not just a dream but a lived experience for our students, in particular our Black and Brown students and students situated in poverty. We at ECHS seek to bring Dr. Cribb’s call for equity to a reality with fervent and intentional focus. We have to be strategic, and do more thna give lip service to these goals around equity. As the late Nelson Mandela stated, “It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education”. We will create spaces where all cultural backgrounds, languages and lived experiences are more than made relevant, they are sustained. We begin this work by coming together as a staff to tackle head-on our own biases, beliefs and misunderstandings around race, racism and culturally sustaining practices. Our first stop is this book club. I am so proud of the amazing staff here at ECHS. Proud to learn beside them, lead them and watch them push your students towards excellence. We know all of our students can be successful, and so they will be. Feel free to join in the conversation, grab a copy of the book and let me know what you think!
Please read on for other amazing updates and happenings taking place at ECHS.
Until next month,
Dr. Abriana Leeper
What's new at the High School?
All Things College & Career @ ECHS
ECHS is dedicated to providing our students with as many post-high school opportunities as possible. During the month of October, we have exciting things happening! On October 5, interested seniors will be visiting the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh to check out their programs. We are looking forward to seeing what they have to offer! Pittsburgh Promise is having a job fair on October 19th and we are planning to attend. Additionally, we will be heading to PNC Park for the 11th annual Steel City HBCU Fair. If your student is interested in attending either of these events, please email Jen Bruni or Keith Bull. The Cleveland HBCU College Fair is on Saturday, November 18. Check out the link if you and your student are interested in attending. Finally, ECHS is organizing a college tour to take place over several days. These will not be consecutive days but broken down into day trips with one overnight stay. The first leg of our tour is to visit RMU and Westminster College. Check out the November letter for second and third-leg information!
Steel City HBCU College Fair @PNC Park - Scholarship/ Application Day
Eligible grades: 12
Date: 10/26/23
Time: TBD during school day
Steel City HBCU Fair permission form
Apply Deadline 10/19/23
Trade Institute of Pittsburgh
Eligible grades: 12
Date: 10/5/23
Time: 11:00am- before dismissal
Deadline: closed
Pittsburgh Promise Annual Preferred College Partners Fair.
Eligible grades: 12
Date: 10/19/23
Time: 10:15am- 11:00am
Pittsburgh Promise Fair permission form
Deadline 10/16/23
First leg of ECHS College Tour. RMU and Westminster College.
For more information please contact Jennifer Bruni or Keith Bull
Eligible grades: 12
Date: 11/2/23
Time: 8:30am - 7:30pm
College Tour- First leg permission form
Apply Deadline: 10/25/23
Cleveland HBCU College Fair
11 and 12
Families are able to attend this opportunity on their own
Cheer on the HS Girls’ Volleyball Team!
The Girls’ Volleyball Home court moved to the All-American Fieldhouse Court in Monroeville. View the schedule here.
PASS Student Survey
This fall, our middle and high school students will take the PASS Student Survey which assists us in uncovering and addressing the social and emotional well-being of our students. Developed by a team of educational psychologists from multiple universities, PASS provides teachers with highly reliable and valid information about how they feel about themselves as a learner and how they feel about school. PASS allows schools to detect possible barriers to student learning, including confidence, resilience, motivation, and concentration. During the coming year, PASS will be administered in the fall, winter, and spring and takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. Please be assured that student confidentiality will be strictly protected. If you have questions or wish to discuss this further, please reach out to our Director of Psychological and Student Services, Maryssa Stavros.
College Preparation
The High School staff is thrilled to have the first graduating class this year, as well as all the opportunities that come with preparing for the next steps after ECS. This fall the high school will be sending 12th graders on various visits to colleges and college fairs. 11th graders are applying to participate in a national HBCU Tour that takes place in the spring. 11th and 12th-grade students will have the opportunity to take an SAT prep class at ECHS. There will also be parent information sessions regarding FAFSA and Scholarships (date TBD).
PAAR SHIFT Our Mindsets Group
PAAR is starting a new teen coping skills group: SHIFT Our Mindsets: –a group for growing Self-Esteem, Healthy Habits, Individuality, Feelings & Emotions, and Trusting Relationships. This group is for youth ages 14-17 and will take place virtually on Mondays from 6 to 7 p.m. starting October 2, 2023. Learn more and register…
Cultural Celebrations
World Mental Health Day
LGBTQIA+ History Month
Breast Cancer Awareness Month (wear your Barbie pink all month long!!)
If you have any ways that you celebrate during the month of October, give back to the community during this time, or have ideas of ways we can continue to learn in the month of October please reach out to Dr. Leeper or Assistant Principal Ruffus!
Pittsburgh Promise Information
Reminder: Class of 2028 is the final to receive The Promise scholarship:
We sent a reminder to all families in PPS last week that The Promise is committed to funding scholarships through the class of 2028 (currently in the 8th grade). I am also enclosing an FAQ sheet with additional information as well as the letter we sent to families. The Promise’s scholarship will continue to operate without change until 2028. No action is required of students and families. We are sending these reminders to students and partners now to ensure that as 2028 approaches, students and families clearly understand our eligibility requirements and timeline.
Our Board of Directors and staff will continue to craft The Promise’s post-2028 role and work through our current fundraising campaign. We know we will deepen our direct outreach work through Promise Coaches (currently serving in Carrick, Perry, and UPrep). We also know that we must continue to work towards post-secondary educational access. We will continue to advocate for the public sector to commit to a sustainable policy solution for funding post-secondary education in Pennsylvania. We are pursuing public policy solutions and will continue to keep you in the loop as those projects take shape.
Attendance Waiver: Class of 2023 AND 2024:
Cumulative attendance for the Class of 2023 and Class of 2024 were both impacted by the 2020-21 remote school year, when attendance was difficult to equitably assess.
Therefore, we have waived the attendance criteria for The Pittsburgh Promise scholarship for both the Class of 2023 and Class of 2024.
Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship Requirements (attendance is waived for Class of 2023 and 2024):
Live in the city of Pittsburgh, Wilkinsburg, or Mt. Oliver from 9th grade through graduation
Attend a PPS high school (or city charter school) from 9th grade through graduation
Graduate with a 2.5 unweighted cumulative GPA* (Promise Extension Program GPA = 2.0-2.49. More on that below)
Graduate with a 90% cumulative attendance rate (again, this is waived for the class of 2023 and 2024)
Must graduate in, or before, 2028
Promise Extension Program Reminder:
Students whose GPA is between 2.0-2.49 unweighted when they graduate are welcome to participate in The Promise Extension Program. These students may use the scholarship at CCAC, a non-CCAC offered program (ex: cosmetology schools), or if they are accepted to any of our Preferred College Partner schools.
More information about the Extension Program is attached (“For HS Staff – Pittsburgh Promise Extension Program Update”).
Promise Portals, Signups, and 2023-24 Signup Competition:
The Promise portal (the application for The Promise scholarship) is now active at www.pittsburghpromise.org/portal for the class of 2024.
I will send each school’s counselors their students’ login information later today. Students should receive a Promise packet in the mail with their login info and portal completion instructions in the coming weeks.
All students have the same password when they first log in: Welcome (capital W).
I will also be reaching out to each school’s counselors to set up Promise presentations to ensure your seniors have all questions about the scholarship answered and to help them register for the scholarship.
As a reminder: we hold an annual signup “competition” among the high schools. Whichever senior class in each group signs up the highest percentage of seniors for The Promise scholarship (by logging into their Promise Portal AND adding schools to complete The Promise application) wins $1,000 toward senior activities/prom. The competition ends on April 1st, but students can continue to add schools to their portal beyond April 1st. The groups are:
Large Schools: Allderdice vs. Brashear
Magnet Schools: CAPA vs. SciTech vs. Obama
Medium Schools: Westinghouse vs. City Charter High vs. Carrick
Small Schools: Perry vs. UPrep vs. vs. Environmental Charter vs. Urban Pathways Charter
Scholarship Payment Details:
The Promise scholarship dollar amount remains the same: up to $5,000 annually for four years of post-secondary education (may be used over a five-year period) for a total maximum of $20,000.
The scholarship may be used at any accredited, Pell-eligible, brick-and-mortar institution in the state of Pennsylvania. This includes colleges, trade schools, and technical schools (including cosmetology schools, barber schools, and nursing programs through hospitals).
Students must attend full-time to receive Promise and a completed FAFSA is required each year (undocumented students must submit a paper form FAFSA to The Promise office).
Out-of-state students may use Promise funds for summer courses, as long as the school is in-state.
Dual Enrollment:
Students can use their potential Promise scholarship funding to pay for courses at CCAC, beginning the fall term of their junior year. This is an advance on their Promise scholarship funding.
Students can take one course in the fall and spring terms and take up to two courses in the summer.
Students must meet Promise residency and enrollment requirements, only (we do not look at GPA or attendance for this opportunity!)
Full Dual Enrollment info (including steps for registration) can be found here: The Pittsburgh Promise: Dual Enrollment
Preferred College Partners Fair: October 19th at the August Wilson Center:
Just a reminder that our annual Preferred College Partners Fair will be held at the August Wilson Center on October 19th. The flyer is attached.
The Promise can pay for transportation. Counselors: please order the bus and send us the invoice.
36 schools will be in attendance, and 19 of those will be offering “instant decisions”.
In Case You Missed It
Here is a copy of the ECHS Student Handbook for the 23-24 school year.
Here are the Orientation slides from the ECHS Orientations this week!
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Sibling Preference for the 24–25 School Year
Have a sibling who would like to attend ECS for the 2024–25 school year? Please complete an application in your SchoolMint account by pressing the add new student application after Oct. 2. The application deadline for sibling preference is January 31. Current students do not need to apply. Re-enrollment will occur in March.“A sibling is defined as one of two or more individuals having at least one common legal parent/guardian. Sibling preference does not guarantee enrollment.”
Enrollment for the 24–25 School Year Opens Oct. 2!
Let your friends and neighbors know about our open enrollment! The application deadline to be considered for the lottery is Jan. 31, 2024. Learn more…Family Portal on the ECS Website
Based on feedback from last year’s communication survey, ECS has identified areas of improvement on the website. ECS is pleased to launch its Family Portal, a designated space for current families to view and learn information. Browse the Family Portal.Volunteering & Clearances
ECS values volunteers in our district. To learn how to volunteer and what clearances are needed visit the Family Portal Volunteer page.Receive Board Meeting Reminders Did you know that ECS has monthly Board of Trustees meetings? Opt-In to receive Board Meeting Reminders that will include the date, time, and location of the meeting as well as links to the agenda draft, sign up to speak form, and YouTube Live feed.