On behalf of Horry County Schools (HCS) and the Horry County Board of Education, we have the privilege to present to our stakeholders the 2022-2023 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, 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, Aynor High School’s Reneé Atkinson was named the South Carolina Teacher of the Year for 2024, and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators named Dr. Rick Maxey the 2024 South Carolina Superintendent of the Year. Additionally, St. James Elementary School was designated a National Blue Ribbon School for its exemplary high performance, which is the highest honor a school can receive from the U.S. Department of Education. The school system accreditation organization Cognia designated HCS a “System of Distinction,” and this was HCS’s 20th year of accreditation through Cognia. North Myrtle Beach High’s Jennifer Wells was named a Teacher of Excellence by the South Carolina Council for Teachers of English, while Carolina Forest High School’s Tracy Todd was named the South Carolina History Teacher of the Year by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The South Carolina Council for Exceptional Children’s Principal, Educator, and Rookie Teacher of the Year Award winners were all HCS employees: Leon Hayes, Principal, South Conway Elementary School; Jessica Miller, Educator, Myrtle Beach Middle School; and Emily Scheffler, Rookie Teacher, St. James High School. HCS students outperformed the state on the SCPASS and SC READY tests, and their SAT composite scores surpassed the state’s and the nation’s.
Of the 2911 graduates in the class of 2023, 75 percent (2191) indicated they were advancing to higher education, and 70 percent (2048) met eligibility requirements for S.C. Education Lottery scholarships. Considering all scholarship sources, 57 percent of 2023 graduates (1671) earned a combined $82.2 million. A total of 2120 graduating seniors earned South Carolina Seals of Distinction. The class of 2023 also completed 2997 dual-credit courses, providing a jump-start toward a college degree. Horry County Schools was pleased to have 11 students from the Class of 2023 win National Merit Scholarships: Zhong Zhao, Scholars Academy and Aynor High School; Tanner Buck and Lola Bellah, Scholars Academy and St. James High School; Alan Bao and Gavin Ockert, Scholars Academy and Carolina Forest High School; Sawyer Osborne and Guoyi Zhong, Scholars Academy and Socastee High School; Philipp Rauhut, The Academy for the Arts, Science & Technology and Carolina Forest High School; Aarya Patel, The Academy for the Arts, Science & Technology and North Myrtle Beach High School; Victoria Tartisel-Ogden, The Academy for the Arts, Science & Technology and St. James High School; and Jackson Large, St. James High School.
The bands at Ocean Bay Middle School and Socastee Middle School were given the Outstanding Performance Award by the South Carolina Band Directors Association.
The South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association’s Coaches of the Year for boys’ lacrosse, girls’ tennis, and boys’ tennis were all from HCS: Matt Fox, boys’ lacrosse, Socastee High School; Patrick Howle, girls’ tennis, Conway High School; and Lee Cannon, boys’ tennis, St. James High School. As for student athletes, we had several individuals and teams win state championships. Aynor High School’s Emmanuel Deas won the AAA 220 lbs. wrestling state championship, and the school’s girls’ softball team won the AAA state championship. At Carolina Forest High School, Braedon Baily was the AAAAA 132 lbs. wrestling state champion, and Miracle McLean was the AAAAA girls’ individual high jump state champion. Myrtle Beach High School’s Seth Riley was the AAAA 200-yard individual medley state champion in swimming, Madison Messimer was the AAAA girls’ golf individual state champion, and the boys’ tennis team won the AAAA state championship. Socastee High School won the AAAAA girls’ tennis state championship. St. James High School’s Joe Guthinger was the state champion in AAAAA boys’ 200-yard freestyle swimming, while Grayson Gollie was the AAAAA 220 lbs. wrestling state champion, and Joshua Sterling was the AAAAA boys’ individual discus state champion.
The 2022-2023 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
David Cox, Chairman of the Horry County Board of Education
