The 2023-24 school year was another great year for HHIHS. Our school provided our students with the strong academic instruction and social and emotional experiences that have long been our tradition since our doors opened in 1983. We continued to provide Professional Development to our staff to help meet the changing demographics of our school especially our Multilingual Learner population. We believe as a staff we are providing our students the opportunities to develop the World Class Skills and Life and Career Characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. One way we do this is with our School of Choice Program – the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Program spans all grade levels in our school by offering two components: the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for ninth and tenth graders, and the Diploma Programme (IBDP) for eleventh and twelfth graders. These programs offered at Hilton Head Island High School encourage our students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to work both individually and in a collaborative setting to creatively come up with innovative ideas and solutions. During the 2023-24 school year, HHIHS had over a 90% IB Diploma conferral rate. Our advanced curriculum offerings are 31 honors, 7 AP, and 24 IB classes. Our HHIHS Class of 2024 included 2 National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists, 21 students selected for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, and 87 students earned Life Scholarships. HHIHS Seniors earned more than 4.5 million dollars in scholarship funding. Additionally, 24 HHIHS Seniors were recognized as Beaufort County School District Senior Scholars. Senior Scholars need to be ranked in the top 10% of the senior class and achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher (on 4-point scale) in all high school courses taken. We pride ourselves on our students giving back to the community. Our students recorded a total of 20,000 hours of community service for the 2023-24 school year. Thirty-five of our students received special recognition by the HHI Town Mayor for their community service hours.
The Hilton Head Island High School Community is proud to have continued our comprehensive (multifaceted) tradition of excellence throughout the 2023-2024 school year. We do this in cooperation with parent and community partnerships, especially our School Improvement Council (SIC).
The HHIHS SIC has been vital to the success of HHIHS. It has been recognized for it's accomplishments in the past. During the 2022-23 school year, the HHIHS High School Improvement Council (SIC) was the recipient of the Dick and Tunky Riley Award for SIC Excellence for its work during the 2021-22 school year. During the 2023-24 the SIC monitored the building projects and capital improvements to HHIHS that were funded in the district wide bond referendum in 2019. The SIC was also instrumental in helping design the rebuild/remodel of HHIHS that that was approved by voters in the school bond referendum in November of 2023. The SIC continued its initiative of organizing and facilitating a Career Day at HHIHS. On Career Day more than 60 volunteers spoke with our students about their respective careers and occupations. All the students at HHIHS participated. Each year the SIC facilitates a Parent Workshop that provides parents financial tips to fund their college education including tips to complete FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and scholarship opportunities. The SIC created and updates a Parents’ Handbook for both current HHIHS and new parents that includes helpful information and navigation tools.
We continue to participate in Beaufort County School District’s Connect2Learn Program in which each student receives an electronic tablet to access information both at school and outside of the school building. The tablets allow for the students to access information, collaborate, and create while learning to safely, ethically, and effectively utilize 21st century tools. This program was especially important for our teachers and students during the pandemic. It allowed students to continue to receive quality instruction from their teachers while the students were quarantined for infection or close contact. As always, students who struggle continued to find support from many organizations at Hilton Head Island High School. Free tutoring was provided after school and, also during extended lunch periods with teachers in classrooms. Our Multilingual Learner students benefitted from tutoring because it provides additional supports in increasing English Proficiency. We know our tutoring programs are successful on many levels, particularly with helping students stay focused on academic achievement and challenging themselves to take rigorous course loads like AP and IB courses. The skills the students learn through these rigorous classes will carry them forward in their next levels of collegiate learning. Other skills, such as communication, using information, and using media and technology are also imperative for success beyond high school. Our Journalism class produces a top-notch daily news show featuring highlights and stories that not only affect our school, but also our community. In this class, students learn to take information and communicate it to an audience through the use of media and technology. Our Newspaper Production classes once again published 4 editions during the 2023-24 school year. A local newspaper printed and mailed the editions to more than 24,000 households and businesses in our local Hilton Head Island community. Students researched topics as well as interviewed students and staff for stories that were published in the newspaper. Our Career and Technology Department offers courses that are conducive to our local economy such as Travel and Tourism, Hospitality, and the Culinary Arts. Our STEM programming features the Project Lead the Way Computer Science/Cybersecurity pathway.
Athletics and extra-curricular activities have always been exceptional at HHIHS, and that tradition continued in 2023-24. We offer 22 varsity sports and 13 junior varsity sports. Many of our Varsity Teams qualified for the state playoffs. Individual accomplishments included 4A Male Tennis Player of the Year, 16 All State Selections and 44 All Region athletes and 22 student athletes signed to participate in college athletics. Our Navy JROTC competed in multiple district, state and national competitions. Our Model UN team excelled at the Winthrop University Model UN Conference. Our arts programs continue to grow and shine. Our two-three-old Dance program is now the largest arts program in our school. HHIHS fielded a Dance Team for the first time in our history. Our visual and performing arts programs are one of the strongest in the state of South Carolina and our art students continue to earn county, state and national awards.
Hilton Head Island High School Community is proud our accomplishments in the 2023-24 school year and together we will continue to make the “Seahawk Nest” an exceptional place to be.
Go Seahawks!!!!
Steve Schidrich – Principal of HHIHS
Mike Quigley - School Improvement Council Chair
