On behalf of Horry County Schools and the Horry County Board of Education, I have the privilege to present to our stakeholders the 2021-2022 State Report Card. The report card provides a collective summary of the District’s progress in upholding our commitment to equip our students with the world class skills articulated in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.

This report card provides information about student performance, but numbers alone do not speak to the energy and creative efforts that contributed to that performance. This past year, even under the many challenges of the pandemic environment, teachers, school administrators, and district staff were committed to our students’ success and worked diligently to provide a healthy and safe environment in which they could grow as learners.

Many honors and awards received during the year paid tribute to the District, our schools, our students, and our staff. Topping the list, HCS Early College High School was recognized as a 2021 National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished School by the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators. St. James Middle School earned the national 2021 Schools To Watch® re-designation award by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform.  The school was first designated as a national Schools To Watch® award recipient in 2015. The College Board and the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education designated Carolina Forest High School, one of only five schools in the state, as a College Access Champion School. The designation is awarded to schools that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment in providing college access to students and families of South Carolina through the College Board Opportunity Scholarship Program. 

Of the 71 percent of 2022 graduates (2903) who indicated they were advancing to higher education, 70 percent (2033) met eligibility requirements for S.C. Education Lottery scholarships. Over 63 percent (1829) of HCS graduates plan to continue their education at a college or university in South Carolina. Considering all scholarship sources, 63 percent of 2022 graduates earned a combined $85.6 million. A total of 1415 graduating seniors earned one or more of the new South Carolina Seals of Distinction.  They completed 3047 dual-credit courses, providing a jump-start toward a college degree, qualifying for college credits valued at $5.8 million.  Horry County Schools was pleased to have twelve students from the Class of 2022 named National Merit Finalists:  Isabella Aparicio-Morello and Reagan McQueen, Scholars Academy and Myrtle Beach High School; Guoren Zhong, Adrian Anderson, John Barnett from Scholars Academy and St. James High School; Hunter Kuperman, Michael Pikula, Nicole Ward, Derrick Wargo, Cody King and Brooke Zavistaski, Scholars Academy and Carolina Forest High School; and Evan Barker, Scholars Academy and Socastee High School.

For the third consecutive year, HCS was honored nationally when named among the 2021 Best Communities for Music Education by the National Association for Music Merchants. This award recognizes the District's systemic commitment to music education.

The Myrtle Beach High School boys tennis team won the AAAA State Championship.  HCS also had four state champions in track and field. The following Carolina Forest High students won Class AAAAA state track & field events: Carolina Forest High School Senior T'Mars McCallum won gold medals in three individual events and a fourth gold medal as a member of the Boys 4x100 meter run team.  T'Mars is the 100-meter run State Champion, and with the time of 10.13, set a new state record. He is the 200-meter run State Champion with a winning time of 20.71 seconds.  He is the long jump State Champion with a jump of 24 feet, 8.5 inches.  T'Mars is the 10th male athlete to win four state championships in a single state finals meet. The Carolina Forest Boys 4x100 meter relay team are State Champions and set a state record with a time of 40.72 seconds . The athletes who made up the Boys 4x100 relay team are Erhard Owusu, Andrew Bilderback, DeMarcus Craft, Jalien Porter, and T'Mars McCallum.

The 2021-2022 school year was a successful year with many accomplishments. We continue to experience stable enrollment and continuous improvement in multiple performance measures. We continue to look for innovative ways to inspire new possibilities within our students. Most importantly, we will always uphold great reverence for the sacred trust our parents and community have placed in us to prepare the next generation for college, careers, and citizenship.

Rick Maxey, Ph.D., Superintendent

Ken Richardson, Chairman of the Horry County Board of Education