Starting with the 2023-2024 school year, incoming Freshman students in the program will simultaneously complete their high school graduation requirements and the community college intersegmental general education transfer curriculum (IGETC) with an option to take courses towards their major of study.

Applicants must be incoming 9th grade students to the program. It is not mandatory but rather highly recommended that incoming Early College student applicants take and complete the NHS Early College Readiness Course during the 4th Quarter of their 8th grade year.   

Another added benefit of the program is that it is completely free for North High students. The cost of tuition, books, and transportation to and from ECC from North High are covered by the program.

Students who apply and are accepted into the program choose to participate knowing that it is a 4-year program and 4-year commitment.

Interested incoming 9th-grade students will complete and submit the North High Early College online application by the deadline noted below, which includes a teacher recommendation form being completed by their 8th-grade English teacher by January 19, 2024.

• 2024-2025 School Year EC Application Timeline:  
  • Application Opens: Wednesday, December 6, 2023
  • Initial Application Deadline: Friday, January 19, 2024
    Note: If space is available, applications will continue to be accepted until the program is filled.
  • Student application review period: January 23 - February 21, 2024

We recommend parents attend the workshop so that they can assist their student in completing the ECC application.

A parent or guardian can attend the workshop in the student’s place, if needed. If a parent or guardian cannot attend, other arrangements can be made.

All TUSD 8th grade students are invited to apply and all completed applications, with accompanying teacher recommendations, will be reviewed. The program will be located at North High School, with a priority given to students who are attending Casimir Middle School or Magruder Middle School. TUSD students who live in other areas within the district may open enroll to North High to participate in the program, as well as non-resident (out-of-District permit) students, if space is available. 

Alternate students are asked to join the program if, and when, a student who was initially chosen is no longer available to participate. Unfortunately, it is difficult to predict if that will happen.

Interested 8th grade students will need to complete and submit the North High Early College online application along with a recommendation from their current English teacher by the deadline date noted. If accepted into the program students will automatically be enrolled. Students not residing in the North High attendance area will additionally require an Open Enrollment permit into North High School (a process that TUSD will assist with).  Please note: 8th-grade TUSD students will need to log in to their TUSD student Google account to access the application.

Casimir and Magruder Middle Schools feed directly into North High School (NHS). This north-area connection makes for a smooth transition from middle to high school. Students have the opportunity while at Casimir and Magruder to build relationships with students they will be moving on to high school with the following year, in addition to familizing themselves with the North High campus either through taking honor courses their 8th grade year at NHS and/or through the many 8th grade articulation activities and events at NHS. Additionally, students from both Casimir and Magruder will have the opportunity to take the Early College Readiness Course at North High within the school year with transportation back to their feeder middle school site.

This program is for students who are enrolled at North High.  Students who live in other areas of Torrance are also eligible for the program, but they will have to attend (via open enrollment process) North High if they are accepted.  

If a student who does not live in the North High area is accepted in the program, they will be allowed to enroll at North High through Open Enrollment. The student will be enrolled at North

High and attend North High classes alongside the El Camino College classes.

The student will need to be enrolled at North High in order to participate in the North High Early College program.  The student may not attend another TUSD high school.

Yes, TUSD will assist the student and family with the Open Enrollment process over to North High.

Currently the cohort is 35 students. Enrollment may increase depending on interest and acceptance into the program.

Interested 8th grade students (from any TUSD middle school) should complete and submit the Early College online application, which includes a recommendation form from their current English teacher.

This program is for students who are enrolled at North High.  Students who live in other areas of Torrance are also eligible for the program, but they will have to attend (via open enrollment process) North High if they are accepted.  

Yes, the Q4 Early College Readiness class is Monday through Friday, during zero period (7:30 am - 8:23 am).

Students can be dropped off at any of the entrance gates to campus.  The closest entrances to the classrooms are the 182nd Street entrances. 

8th grade students currently taking courses at North High School can arrive on campus for the Early College Program readiness class for zero period and continue in their day with any other North High courses they are enrolled in.

Students will receive a Pass/No Pass grade and 2.5 high school elective credits for the Early College Program readiness class. No letter grade is issued.

Only students who are invited to participate in the program are enrolled in the Early College Readiness class. In the event a spot becomes available after the Q4 readiness class has begun, the alternate student will then be enrolled in the summer readiness class.

Students will need to be provided transportation from their home to North High. Students will be provided district transportation during the school day from North High back to Casimir and Magruder Middle schools. 

School Day Pick Up: Transportation is ONLY provided during the school day between the El Camino College campus and North High campus for students taking Early College program courses. 

Please Note: Once a student Open Enrolls to North High, they become a permanent North High student and transportation to and from North High School is the responsibility of the parent/guardian.

Courses in the program will be taught by North High teachers and El Camino College teachers.  In courses taken in 9th and 10th grades, our goal is for the majority of the courses be taught by North High instructors (who meet minimum qualifications to teach an El Camino course).  Students will gradually transition to courses taught by El Camino instructors in the 11th and 12th grades. 

The list of courses below is tentative and subject to change:

This is not recommended, as Health is one of the college courses that 9th grade students will take through the ECC program. These students will receive both TUSD and college credit for Health. If a student is interested in taking Health in the summer, they should discuss this with their Counselor when they meet to select their 9th grade classes.

It is recommended that students take the Spanish courses offered through the Early College program. Early College Spanish 1 is equivalent to levels 1 and 2 for high school Spanish and Spanish 2 is equivalent to level 3. A student who has already taken Spanish 1 with TUSD will actually have better experience due to the knowledge already gained. Students will be able to complete three levels of Spanish in one year through the Early College program.  

Students can choose to continue to take North High’s Spanish courses if they are in the Early College Program, but it is recommended that they take the Early College Program Spanish courses so that they can accelerate their pathway.

If students opt to take a different language, they will miss out on 10 units of coursework offered through the Early College Program, unless they choose to take their language through El Camino.  Not taking a language through the Early College program can impact the student’s ability to complete IGETC/Associate’s Degree requirements.  Students can find other ways to complete 10 units of ECC coursework, including during the summer terms. This can be discussed with the Counselor.

We do not recommend that students take Algebra 1 in the summer, as it is a foundational math course for high school students.  Students will have the opportunity to take Geometry in the summer after they have completed Algebra 1, which will allow them to accelerate their math sequence and take Algebra 2 in grade 10.

Yes. 9th and 10th grade students must follow a special process to be approved to take El Camino courses in the summer.  See the ECC Dual Enrollment website for details on the process for enrollment.

As a 9th and 10th grade student, Early College students will take their ECC courses on the North High School campus and they will follow the school bell schedule, including late start Tuesdays. As an 11th and 12th grade student, the start time will depend on the courses the student is taking at North High and at ECC. 

El Camino courses are college level courses and students can expect college level pacing and rigor. 

Students will still be enrolled in a 6 period day. Since El Camino courses are semester courses, the students will switch courses at the semester for the class periods they have college courses. Some El Camino courses may need to be double periods or set up as hybrid (in person and online) to meet the minimum weekly hour requirement.

Most of the classes will be conducted in-person but there might be a few classes that have the ability to be offered online or in a hybrid setting. 

During their 9th and 10th grade years, students will mainly take their El Camino courses at North High School. As they enter their 11th and 12th grade years, some of their El Camino College classes will be on the El Camino campus.  The built-in flexibility of the program will allow students to fully participate in athletic and extracurricular activities at North High School.

Yes, if there is space in the program, students in 9th - 12th grade may take the courses being offered through the Early College program.

If a student is enrolling at North High for the Fall, we prefer that they take any summer courses offered through North High’s program.  Please discuss this with the Counselor if this is something you are interested in.

Yes

Yes, students can submit a TUSD Independent Study Physical Education (ISPE) Application to see if they meet our district’s criteria for ISPE credit. Contact the Counselor or NHS Assistant Principal Dr. Rozanski, who supervises Physical Education at North, at rozanski.christina@tusd.org for ISPE application information.

Students can take both. AP English courses help to prepare students for the Early College English course.

Yes, the Counselor will work with the student if they want to take career pathway electives. 

• What is Dual Enrollment: Students enrolled in Dual Enrollment are able to meet high school graduation requirements and earn college credit by enrolling in a dual enrollment course or pathway. In some dual enrollment courses students are able to earn career specific certificates of completion. 
• What are AP Courses? The AP program allows students to earn college credit for taking high school classes. Students can take AP classes in areas  including English, social science, math, and various world languages. At the end of the year, students take the relevant AP test for their subject, thereby earning college credit. 
• What is Early College?  Students in the North High Early College program will simultaneously complete their high school graduation requirements and the community college intersegmental general education transfer curriculum (IGETC) with an option to take courses towards their major of study. Early College is an innovative way for high school students to earn both a high school degree and a two-year associate’s degree (or up to two years’ credit toward a bachelor’s degree) in the time it takes to go to high school.

Dual enrollment is a broader term that applies to any high school student enrolled in any college course. All students in the Early College program will be considered dual enrollment students. In the Early College program, students will complete a series of pre-set courses that will allow them to meet the IGETC general education requirements and the high school graduation requirements at the same time. This is different from regular dual enrollment which is typically a one-off course the student chooses to take on their own to advance in their high school courses.

When a student takes an AP course, they will take an AP exam in the late Spring semester of that school year.  If the student does well on the exam, the college they attend can grant the student college credit for that subject.  What score is required to be granted credit and what course credit will be granted is determined by the college.

If a student takes a college course through the dual enrollment program and they receive a grade of C or better, they automatically receive college credit for that course without the student having to take an exam. 

Additionally, some graduate programs, like those in the healthcare field, do not accept course credit that was granted via AP exam course credit.  Those programs require that students take the college course instead of bypassing the course with the exam. 

Yes, depending on scheduling and availability, students in the Early College program will be able to take Honors or AP courses through North High’s program alongside their El Camino College courses. 

The grades in college courses will have a positive impact on a student’s GPA when they apply for a four-year college or university.  Students who earn a grade of C or better in a transferable college course are granted an extra grade point for the calculation of their UC/CSU GPA.  Please note that UCs/CSUs allow for a maximum of eight extra grade points for calculating the GPA.

Early College Program students will also receive an extra grade point for ECC courses taken through the Early College Program for their TUSD GPA.

Students may transfer up to 70 units from a community college to a CSU or a UC (equivalent to 105 quarter units at the UC level).

• NCAA eligibility and playtime 
  • NCAA Eligibility Center will look at each course individually (case by case)
  • Students should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center in the Spring of 11th grade and submit transcripts to begin the evaluation process.