Saturday (12/6), Progressive Dinner Monday (12/8) - Friday (12/ 12), Winter Spirit Week Thursday (12/11), Winter Choir Concert Tuesday (12/16) - Thursday (12/18), Fall Semester Finals (Finals Bell Schedule) Friday (12/19) - Friday (1/2), Christmas Vacation Monday (01/5), First Day of Spring Semester Friday (01/9), ECHS Lottery Closes Monday (01/12), Spring Sports Night
NEW & TIME SENSITIVE INFORMATION
Progressive Dinner Tickets Progressive Dinner is on Saturday, December 6. We will load up on buses, travel to the homes of ECHS families, eat food, and sing Christmas carols. Seniors carol at the mall, juniors carol along Grand Avenue, and sophomores and freshmen carol in local neighborhoods. Then, all the students return to the campus for socializing and dessert. Tickets for this fun event are available for purchase here. You will also need a permission slip completed and signed by a parent or guardian. Permission slips are available at the front office, or may be downloaded through the payment portal. Hurry as we only have a limited number of tickets available. The purchase deadline is December 1.
Progressive Dinner Dessert Donations We need your help! If you can, please donate desserts on Friday, December 5, for the Progressive Dinner. That would help out so much. We will be at the front of the school in the morning and at the end of school by the pick-up line, so you can drop off your sweet kids and the sweet desserts at the same time. Thank you in advance.
ECHS Holiday Choir Concert Start your holiday off right with Christmas carols sung by our talented ECHS choir! The ECHS Holiday Choir Concert will be on Thursday, December 11, at 7:00 p.m. in The American Spirit Theater. The concert is free, so come out and enjoy the show! For more information, please contact jmccormick@amhcs.org.
Lost and Found The locker rooms were cleaned of all left items. Cleats, sweatshirts, athletic bags, water bottles, and any other lost and found items will be donated to a local charity on Friday, December 12. Please check the lost and found for items you may be missing before it's too late.
New Class of 2026 Spirit Wear Attention senior families! Just in time for the holiday season, new "Class of 2026" spirit wear is available at the AHCS Spirit Shop, brought to you by the ECHS Parent Volunteer Organization. Peruse our amazing hoodies, t-shirts, and crewnecks, available in both men's and women's styles. Click here
to buy!
PARENTS
Progressive Dinner Volunteers The PVO is looking for volunteers to help with the progressive dinner on Saturday, December 6. If you are able to host a group of students at your home or if you would like to help at someone else’s home, or if you would like to help at the school after the event, here is the link to sign up. Thank you!
LOTTERY & ENROLLMENT
AMERICAN HERITAGE CHARTER SCHOOLS 2026-2027 SCHOOL YEAR LOTTERY INFORMATION
Lotteries for the 2026-2027 school year opened on October 14, 2025 for all programs. Applications are not required for currently enrolled students, but new siblings must submit a lottery application.
Escondido Charter High School: Lottery applications for enrollment in the high school programs are available online at https://amhcs.org/echs/echs-admissions/. The Escondido Charter High school lottery closes on January 9, 2026. Please contact the main office at 760-737-3154 if you have any questions.
Heritage Elementary School: Lottery applications are available online at https://amhcs.org/heritage-elementary-school/hes-admissions/. The lottery closes on February 6, 2026. Please contact the Heritage Elementary office at 760-737-3111 if you have any questions.
Heritage Junior High: Lottery applications are available online at https://amhcs.org/heritage-junior-high-school/hjhs-admissions/. The lottery closes on February 6, 2026. Please contact the Heritage Junior High office at 760-294-5599 if you have any questions.
Heritage Flex Academy: Lottery applications are available online at https://amhcs.org/hfa/hfa-admissions/. The lottery closes on February 6, 2026. Please contact the Heritage Flex Academy office at 760-466-1166 if you have any questions.
ACADEMIC & STUDENT SERVICES INFORMATION
Community Service Deadline The deadline to submit community service hours for the first semester is Friday, December 12. All students are expected to serve a minimum of four hours each semester. Submit your completed hours, recorded on the ECHS Community Service Record Form, to the main office. Hours submitted after December 12 may not be reflected on the Community Service Report Forms mailed home with Report Cards. We suggest that you keep track of your hours (take a picture of each slip or keep track in a notebook) before submitting it to the front office.
STUDENT SERVICES INFORMATION FOR SENIORS
Complete your FAFSA The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is open! This form, which is sent to colleges, helps provide grants, low interest rate loans, and federal work study opportunities for students and is free to fill out. If students are looking to apply for the Palomar Promise (2 free years of college), this form is required. Students, you can complete the form now with this link. Remember, you are filling out the form for the 2025-26 school year. Here
is a list of what you will need to fill out the form. If you need help, make a 1:1 appointment with our Project Next Financial Aid Coach, Ms. Garcia, in the Future Center.
PROJECT NEXT
Project Next Career Coaching Ms. Osorio, our Career Coach with Project Next, is here to support students with their next steps after high school. She is available on Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Tuesdays through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the ECHS Future Center. Check out the menu of services here, book an appointment here, or email her at tatiana@projectnext.org. Be sure to follow us on Instagram to stay updated on events and opportunities throughout the year at echs_futurecenter.
Seniors: Ms. Michelle, our FAFSA Coach, is here every Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. She can support you with submitting the FAFSA and reviewing your award letters. Book an appointment with Ms. Michelle by clicking here.
Please note that I will be out of the office December 1 through December 4: Project Next Career Coaches will be available on December 2 and 3 to support students as needed while I am away.
-Tuesday, December 2 Ms. Toledo will be covering the Future Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Book an appointment with Ms. Toledo by clicking here.
-Wednesday, December 3 Mr. Tysall will be covering the Future Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Book an appointment with Mr. Tysall by clicking here.
Don't forget to check out our upcoming events!
Medical Assistant Career Chat:with Family Health Centers of San Diego: Tuesday, December 9, at 12:40 p.m. in the Future Center
*Please note that students are encouraged to sign up for our career chats. While students may still attend on the day of the event, those who sign up in advance will be entered into a raffle at the end of each presentation when they submit the event survey.
CAMPUS CULTURE & COMMUNITY SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES
Sister Project The annual white elephant gift exchange and holiday party will be on Friday, December 12, in the ECHS student union from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. Bring a holiday snack to share with the group and a gift to swap ($10 to $15 price range).
Baseball Apparel Anyone interested in getting some cool Escondido Charter baseball apparel, here is the link. Anything ordered gets shipped directly to you.
Heart Screening In honor of Titus Wininger, an AHCS friend whose life was tragically cut short by an undetected heart condition, we’re hosting FREE heart screenings for anyone ages 12 to 25.
Where: Escondido Charter High School When: Saturday, December 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. (Walk-ins 10:00 to 2:00) Registration: Register at epsavealife.org/get-screened *No ID or insurance is required, and the screening is 100% FREE.
Join us in protecting young hearts and honoring Titus’s legacy.
Winter Spirit Week ECHS will be celebrating Winter Spirit Week from December 8 to 12! Each day has a fun theme, and students who dress up accordingly will receive Christmas-themed candy. Monday: Winter Wonderland Dress in your best winter-themed outfits! Think snowy colors, sparkles, and all things frosty. Tuesday: Holiday Characters Come dressed as your favorite holiday character! From festive icons to classic storybook figures, creativity is encouraged. Wednesday: Ski or Skater Show off your winter sport style by dressing like a skier or a skater. Thursday: Grade Competition Day Each grade will dress according to a holiday theme! -9th Grade: Elves – Wear green
or red
. -10th Grade: Reindeers – Wear brown or antlers. -11th Grade: The Grinch – Wear green
. -12th Grade: Santa – Wear Santa hats and anything else Santa-related. Friday: Pajamas Day Stay cozy and festive with your favorite pajamas.
Save the Date! Movie Night on the Field! ECHS, mark your calendars! We will be hosting a Movie Night on the field on Friday, December 12. Entrance is free! The Movie Night will take place from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., and students should eat dinner before they arrive. More information is coming soon—stay tuned for details on the movie, schedule, and what to bring. Get ready for a fun night under the stars!
Travel to Belize EARN HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE CREDIT BY TRAVELING TO BELIZE JUNE 2026! We are traveling to Belize in June 2026 for an action-packed adventure. This trip is all-inclusive: air fare, lodging, meals, and activities. Activities include ziplining, touring ancient ruins, snorkeling, tubing through caves, and so much more! After the trip you can earn high school credit and/or college credit! Check out this
website to see the itinerary and to sign up. Check out this
website to learn more about earning credit for high school or college. This trip is organized by travel group Explorica. This is not a school-sponsored trip. You do not have to be a student. Families are encouraged to sign up together! Email Ms. Sanchez if you are interested in learning more about the adventure at tsanchez@amhcs.org.
Community Service Opportunity Heritage Elementary's ELO-Program is looking for high school volunteers. Volunteers will help students with homework as well as aiding teachers in a variety of classes such as coding, 3d printing, art, dance and more! If you are interested in helping our youngest White Tigers and earning community service hours, please click on this link.
ATHLETICS
ECHS Athletics Please check our athletics website, for the latest updates! You may also contact our athletic department at echsathletics@amhcs.org, if you have any questions. We look forward to sharing with you as we Play As One!
Athletics Physical Form This form
needs to be completed before trying out for any ECHS sport. It should be uploaded to your Student Management Portal. This can be found on our athletics website
under “Athletics Dept & Forms” and then after selecting “Clearance Forms”.
ISPE If you are enrolled in ISPE this year, please click on the link that correlates to your program TCP
or CLP
to input your hours. If you have any questions, please reach out to Ms. Mallie at mgreen@amhcs.org.
Co-Curricular Eligibility Policy The ECHS Co-Curricular Eligibility Policy has been recently updated. To review the policy, click HERE.
OUR MISSION IS TO DEVELOP THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF OUR STUDENTS THROUGH A RIGOROUS CORE CURRICULUM WITH A PERSPECTIVE THAT CHERISHES TIMELESS VIRTUES AND THE AMERICAN SPIRIT.
