Eastside High School:
Engaging Minds. Embracing Community.
Eastside High School 1300 Brushy Creek Rd. Taylors SC 29687 864.355.2800
http://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/eastside
Principal: Tina Bishop
Profile:
Eastside High School’s enrollment has risen over the last several years to over 1,500 students in 2019-2020. Our enrollment includes over 150 students who do not reside in our attendance area but attend through the change in assignment program. Our ELL population is also steadily increasing. We continue to recruit Highly Qualified (HQ) teachers in all subject areas. All teachers are deemed HQ according to federal guidelines.
The counseling department not only strives to meet individual student needs during the school day, it also holds informational morning and evening meetings for parents. This is very valuable since many parents work and are unable to speak or meet with counselors during the work day. The counseling department worked in conjunction with administration and parent groups to focus on social and emotional wellness initiatives throughout the year. This included classroom guidance lessons and events like the monthly Coffee with Counselors.
Our SIC continued a new program in the 2019-2020 school year: Community Connections Program for parents to learn various aspects of high school student life and transitions from high school to the workplace or college. This program consists of two parts: The David Hellams Community Event, a local community center where many of our students are bused into our school from the surrounding area. The other portion of the program is The Hispanic Outreach when parents are given the opportunity to learn about the school and also to interact with the committee members regarding helpful strategies for their children. During the 2019-2020 this event was held in conjunction with the Spanish Honor Society Fall Festival in a Latino neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon.
Our core beliefs are as follows:
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All students can learn.
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Students must be active participants in their own learning.
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Education is a shared responsibility of the home, the school, and the community.
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The academic program is the primary focus of the school.
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Extra-curricular activities are a valuable component of the total school program.
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Students learn best in a safe, disciplined environment nurtured by teachers, principals, support staff and community.
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Character development and mutual respect are essential for a positive learning environment.
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Educational experiences should encourage and enable students to learn to communicate effectively, solve problems competently, think critically and creatively, and act responsibly.
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Learning is a lifelong process.
Eastside High School’s mission is to provide an educational program in a positive atmosphere that will ensure both quality and equity. Academic courses and extra-curricular programs will provide lifelong learning experiences for our community; furthermore, our vision is to be recognized as a school of excellence through our achievements in academics, athletics, and the arts.
Student Achievement:
Because of the increasingly diverse nature of our student body, student learning needs are constantly evaluated. At Eastside we are focused on improvement for our entire student body, not just those students who comprise the lower quartile. This requires our teachers at every level to push students to perform at their maximum potential. We are also dedicated to increasing course offerings and enrollment in our AP, Dual Credit and Honors level classes while maintaining the necessary rigor. We offered fifteen various AP courses in 2019-2020 and will offer 18 AP courses in 2020-2021. Our dual credit course offerings doubled from 12 credit hours being offered in 2019-2020 to 24 hours being offered in 2020-2021. We are also working on providing our students with the best chance to earn a Graduation Plus with their diploma. The certificate and career and technology completer opportunities for our students are being expanded each year at both the school level and with the Harley Bonds Career Center. The administration has developed a three year plan for increasing all Graduation Plus opportunities for our students. Along with schools across the country, we transitioned to eLearning in mid-March. Our teachers and students maintained a high level of engagement during the eLearning time as we finished the 2019-2020 school year. Classes met through google meet, teachers used many new technology tools and lessons were taught with fidelity. This was a challenge for the Eastside family as this was our first year as a personalized learning device school.