Nestled in the heart of the Midlands in Northeast Richland County, Richland School District Two is the fifth largest school district in South Carolina. The district is made up of urban, suburban and rural settings. The district is home to Fort Jackson, the country’s largest Army training base, and has a high concentration of military veterans. In Richland Two, we take pride in being the district of choice, where every school is an excellent choice.
Our mission, in partnership with our community, is to develop global citizens of tomorrow - citizens who are prepared to lead and excel in their chosen pathways. By continuously seeking opportunities for students to maximize their gifts and talents, Richland Two is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
As students pursue their pathways to purpose, Richland Two provides the resources needed to develop the World Class Skills of creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and teamwork; communication, information, media and technology; and knowing how to learn.
Creativity and innovation are firmly established in the culture of Richland Two and visible in classrooms throughout the entire district. One example is a student-led project to improve COVID-19 contact tracing in schools that not only won $65,000 in technology and classroom supplies in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest, but also the 2021 Ibrahim Janajreh Young Innovator Award. The award, sponsored by Michelin NA, was established in 2005 to recognize successful South Carolina programs that engage, encourage and acknowledge young people in the areas of science, technology, math and innovation. Richland Two has a Student Innovation Center that is dedicated to providing resources for students to tap into their creativity and innovation in App Development and Coding; Next Energy Engineering; Marketing and Social Media; Pastry and Baking; 3D Printing and Design; and Animation and B.E.A.T.S. (Beginning Engineering of Audio, Technology, and Sound). A second example is the Virtual Epic Build Celebrations hosted by an elementary school that immerses computer science into its classrooms. Anyone in the community can tune in live on YouTube to watch students share their extraordinary robotics projects. In another example, R2 Innovates, a district initiative whose purpose is to encourage design thinking, foster creativity through collaboration and bring amazing ideas to life, asked high school students for ways to improve their schools using a platform called Brightidea. The district held a Hackathon where teams of students pitched their problems and solutions to a panel of judges who selected the top ideas to move into the implementation stage.
Students are witnessing, enjoying the benefits and some were active participants in the collaboration and teamwork that went into the passage of the $468 million Pathways to Premier Facilities bond referendum in November 2018. More equitable learning spaces and athletic facilities are being constructed, and new safety enhancements are giving students peace of mind. Most recently, two new high school competition stadiums were completed with weight rooms and press boxes. Construction of a permanent facility for the Center for Knowledge North is complete. Construction of a new Performing Arts Center is underway. New builds of Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School and Forest Lake Elementary NASA Explorer School are scheduled to be completed in July 2023.
A 100% graduation rate for the second cohort of 12 students enrolled in the Richland Two AVID Early College further demonstrates the collaboration and teamwork that is being achieved in Richland Two. Four years after they began, in May 2022 students in the early college earned their high school diplomas and college degrees at the same time. They received Associate’s degrees in the Arts through a partnership with the University of South Carolina-Sumter. The partnership covered two years of tuition for each student, valued at over $25,000.
The opportunities are endless for Richland Two students to achieve the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Richland Two is home to two elementary school recipients of the Palmetto State Arts Education award for their infusion of the arts in their school and community; and a 2022 Project Lead the Way Distinguished School that provides broad access to transformative learning experiences for students through Computer Science, Biomedical Science, and Engineering. Two young scientists are among the top 300 scholars in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2022, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors. One high school ranks in the top 20 South Carolina schools for student participation in the College Board’s Opportunity Scholarships program and for coaching students through the steps of the college application process. Twenty-nine students earned academic honors from College Board National Recognition Programs. These students had a GPA of 3.5 or higher, excelled on the Preliminary SAT (PSAT)/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (NMSQT) or PSAT 10, or earned a score of 3 or higher on two or more AP Exams.
There is something for everyone in Richland Two. We offer 41 magnet programs. Twenty-five are nationally certified magnets and 12 are Demonstration Magnet Schools. These schools have met rigorous Magnet School Standards of Excellence set by the National Institute for Magnet School Leadership. They serve as innovation laboratories for others to learn best practices in theme-based education. One elementary school is a recipient of the 2022 National New and Emerging Merit Award of Excellence from Magnet Schools of America.
Richland Two continues to be a trailblazer in providing excellent communication, information, media and technology to students and staff. Richland Two offers modern school and workplace settings. Groundbreaking innovations, one-to-one computing, sophisticated software and highly qualified staff are optimized to give students exceptional learning experiences that often exceed expectations. Richland Two employs 323 teachers with the distinction of earning National Board Certification, the most respected professional certification in K-12 education.
Unquestionably, our students leave Richland Two knowing how to learn, with the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, and are destined to lead and excel in their chosen pathways.
Warm Regards,
Baron R. Davis, Ph.D.
Superintendent
