Despite the disruptive effects of COVID-19, Burke High School’s mission, vision, and goals remain aligned with the Charleston County School District and the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. To assist students in developing the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, instructional practices were strategically planned for the 20-21 school year. As a result, a commitment to address all the needs of students was forged. Rather than focusing on remediation, strategies were initiated to accelerate learning, celebrate success, and graduate students college and career-ready.

We believe success is a collaborative process. Although grades and attendance are important, teachers at Burke approach instruction and learning with the mindset that social-emotional and authentic learning are equally important, if not foremost. Therefore, high expectations are set for achievement, communication is maintained with parents, partnerships are forged with community resources, and instructional tasks connect what students are taught to real-world issues, problems, and applications. 

In light of the instructional loss due to COVID, our entire instructional staff worked diligently to make significant improvements in delivering and monitoring teaching. Additionally, we engaged students weekly in Social Emotional Learning to help develop the whole student. Home visits were conducted; both in-person and virtual tutoring was offered, and an academic recovery task force was created. Summer programs are designed to prevent students from repeating courses and preparing students for a rigorous and robust learning experience for the upcoming school year. They include credit recovery, AP course orientation, and high school preparation sessions.

Throughout the 2020-21 school year, students were recognized as “Student of the Month” based on nominations from their teachers, and incentives were given to students who made significant literacy and math progress as measured by MAP, Achieve 3000, and Aleks. We celebrated the Class of 2021 with a live graduation experience adhering to COVID protocols.

We can all agree that this year has presented unique challenges for our students, teachers, administration, and community. However, in support of our goal, a concerted effort is given every day to ensure academic progress is made, graduation rates are increased, and college and career readiness capacity is enhanced. 

As we look towards the next school year, we celebrate the opportunity to provide 100% in-person instruction. We will continue to expand curriculum opportunities by increasing dual-enrollment and AP courses and growing our completer pathways. 

We learned a great deal from last year and this school year’s electronic learning experience. For this reason, our mission is consistent. We empower all students for success by fostering independent and responsible lifelong learners so that upon graduation, they will enter college, the military, or the workplace with the necessary skills to compete with their peers and become positive members of society. 

Cheryl F. Swinton, Principal

Eric Jackson, SIC Chair