During challenging times, it is more important than ever for schools to have a compass point to help navigate students’ journeys. The past two years have certainly included challenges and, at Lexington High School, we are proud that our students have continued to thrive. The World-Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, as well as our district’s vision to “empower each child to design the future,” have provided the necessary compass points that helped our school stay on course. In addition to successfully acquiring world-class knowledge across a variety of subject areas, our students practice and demonstrate mastery in the skills, competencies and habits of future-oriented graduates every day at LHS through a variety of personalized pathways.
Building on a foundation of excellence in academics, athletics and the arts, our students continue to lead and succeed in 2021–22. Our 110th senior class included 520 graduates who earned more than $50 million in scholarships. We saw students graduate from the rigorous International Baccalaureate Diploma program and complete courses of study across our district’s five Centers for Advanced Study. Our students were Career and Technical Education completers and earned hundreds of workforce certificates and credentials. They completed immersive language programs and earned more Seals of Biliteracy recognizing students who have studied and attained proficiency in two or more languages by high school graduation than any other school, public or private, in our state. An amazing 84% of our graduates qualified for the state’s LIFE Scholarship to continue their education.
The graduating class represents the culmination of years of work and collaboration between dedicated teachers, families and partners who are all invested in our students, our community and our state. We recognize that the future requires different outcomes than schools have ever been asked to produce, and we continuously adapt to meet the needs of our students. New furniture that places students in groups fosters the development of collaborative skills, in settings where critical thinking and creativity are celebrated. Our students use their district-provided MacBooks to design solutions to complex problems, organizing and sharing their work through various platforms.
Learning at LHS is not defined by location, traditional schedules or classroom configurations. It exists in purposeful collaboration spaces, artistic or recording studios, digital learning labs, online simulations, stages, athletic fields, internships, community service events and field studies, to name just a few. World-class skills are learned through authentic practice with high levels of both rigor and support. This approach to learning starts as soon as our ninth graders enter our campus and extends to the lifelong learning of our alumni.
As clearly demonstrated by these successes and many others achieved this year as in the past, the efforts and vision of LHS have not been thwarted by the challenging circumstances of the past two years. On the contrary, at LHS, we are defined by the commitment of our teachers, staff and, most importantly, our students, the passionate designers of the future.
Ryan Pool, Ed.D., Principal
Lisa Catalanotto, SIC Chair
