Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is a school that is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by providing them with a challenging curriculum that develops high-level thinking skills. We are ensuring that our students are college and career ready by infusing researched best practices, skills, and strategies. Bethune-Bowman Middle/High School, located in rural Orangeburg County, is a 6-12 grade school in Orangeburg County School District that serves 340 students. The 2019-2020 school year has been productive and creative for the faculty, staff, and students because virtual platforms were used for teaching and learning to ensure instruction still took place due to the pandemic. Bethune-Bowman Middle/High has a united team of students, faculty, staff, parents, community, and stakeholders. More emphasis has been placed on using data to drive the instruction of our students. The school has continued instructional non-negotiables that have ensured student mastery., Thus, all teachers taught the standards and constantly checked for understanding. During the 2019-2020 school year, content-specific strategies were implemented in all classrooms to prepare students for SC Ready, PASS, End of Course, ACT and SAT Exams. Other initiatives that contributed to our progress include: Content Parent Nights, SAT/ACT Preparation, APEX, USA Test Prep, SC Virtual School, Common Assessments, after-school tutorials and yearlong data analysis to drive instruction. Bethune-Bowman was excited to have a Palmetto Fellow student this year. Bethune-Bowman Campus was fortunate to receive a $229,000 grant from the South Carolina Oversight Commission to implement a summer extended learning camp for students in grades K-8. Due to the pandemic, the Mohawk Mania Camp was not held this year. The six week extended learning camp would have focused on increasing students' reading and math levels by employing highly qualified and motivated teachers as well as having field experiences that correlated with the math and science standards. The School Improvement Council continues to work together to increase parent and community involvement. The school strives to keep parents and the community informed through parent newsletters, articles in the local newspaper, weekly parent contacts, PowerSchool Parent Portal, and our phone call-out system. The students’ community outreach projects consisted of Adopt a Highway, American Heart Association, Breast Cancer Awareness, March of Dimes, Pennies for Patients, and Relay for Life. As we look forward to the new school year, Bethune-Bowman Middle/High School faculty, staff and students still solicit the support of our parents, community, and other stakeholders in making the transition to high school and the real world.
Lakekia J. Lewis, Principal
Antoinette Fludd, SIC Chair