July 24, 2006 The 150 students who make up the inaugural class of the Horry County Early College High School are getting an early start in preparing for the school year as they attend Bridge Week, a week-long dynamic orientation process held July 24-27 at Horry Georgetown Technical College, the location of the Horry County Early College High School. Each day begins at 8:15 a.m. and concludes at 2:15 p.m. The Horry County Early College High School is the first of its kind in South Carolina. It provides a small, autonomous, personalized learning environment that blends high school and college into a coherent educational program. Students will be able to achieve two years of college credit at the same time they are earning a high school diploma. The program is open to rising ninth grade students exhibiting middle to high academic performance who express a desire to go to college, yet may have circumstances in their lives that would prevent them from doing so. The Horry County Early College High School will provide support to make many of these students first generation college graduates. Some of the extra means of support for these students comes in the form of academic preparation to meet college readiness standards, counseling, tutoring, mentoring, service learning, internship experiences, family engagement, and national and international travel. The Horry County Early College High School is a unique public-private partnership between Horry County Schools, Horry Georgetown Technical College, and the Business Education Expectations Partnership. This groundbreaking initiative is supported by an advisory board of more than 30 leaders in business and education. The Advisory Board is chaired by Secretary Richard W. Riley, former United States Secretary of Education. Dr. William C. Moran, retired president of Lander College, serves as the Vice-Chairman. For more information about Horry County Early College High School, contact Frank Clark, Coordinator. He may be reached at 347-3186 or fclark@aast.hcs.k12.sc.us. Listed below are the highlights for Bridge Week: Monday, July 24 - 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.: Opening Ceremony
- 10:45 – 11:45 a.m.: Getting to Know You
- 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.: Tour of HGTC
Tuesday, July 25 - 9:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Students will participate in a series of concurrent sessions on the following: Expectations of students participating in the Early College High School; Goal Setting; Journaling; Art and Poetry; Mentee Training; Conflict Resolution; Service Learning; Problem Solving; Career Clusters; and Media Services.
Wednesday, July 26 - 8:15 -11:30 a.m. and 12-2:15 p.m.: Project Adventure
Thursday, July 27 - 8:30 – 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.: Diversity Workshop
- 10:30 – 11:50 a.m. and 12:20 – 1:40 p.m. Concurrent session from topics listed on Tuesday
- 1:40 – 2:15 p.m.: Closing Ceremony
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Larry Biddle, Educator and Business Entrepreneur, was the keynote speaker for the Opening Ceremony
Biddle rolls up his shirt sleeves as he talks about the hard work that lies ahead
150 rising ninth graders are attending Bridge Week to prepare for Early College High School
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