Lexington Two is committed to helping students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by offering challenging academic programs and engaging experiences that connect K-12 education with the real-world opportunities of a 21st-century global society. By immersing students in instruction focused on critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, and collaboration – supported by communication, information, and technology -- our graduates are prepared for their next chapters in education, career, and civic engagement.
Developing World Class Skills requires a strong early foundation. The district’s pre-K and early childhood programs focus on creative concepts for our youngest learners. Staff members work collaboratively with other area preschool providers to engage families in our community and ensure a successful school transition for all students. At the elementary level, we focus on building skills in basic disciplines that will serve as a foundation for continuous learning. In 2022-2023, the district fully implemented Lex2 Launch, a districtwide acceleration program designed to serve the needs of academically advanced learners, preparing them for accelerated work in middle school and eventual participation in dual-credit courses such as Early College and Advanced Placement courses in high school. Elementary school students also begin to see the variety of careers through lessons and other activities, helping them make connections between education and career choices. These connections continue into middle school, where students are immersed in academic and extracurricular activities that further develop their creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative skills, with accelerated opportunities to gain high school credits through courses including English I, Algebra I, Fundamentals of Computing, and Art I. Teachers and administrators at the district’s four middle schools work collaboratively, with the addition of high school English I and Algebra I teachers, to create common formative assessments and to address student learning through collaboratively analyzing the results.
At the high school level, the focus is on honing students’ interests and educational experiences for college and career paths. Few programs better illustrate this customized educational path – or showcase critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration in action – than our Lexington Two Innovation Center. The L2IC, as it is known, has broadened the scope of traditional high school vocational programs into a curriculum that better supports our students in envisioning their own college and career paths – welding, for example, can apply not only to bridge builders but to engineers who design buildings, farriers who work with animals, and blacksmiths who specialize in historic preservation. The L2IC is a hub for our Early College and dual enrollment programs, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit while still in high school. Our career pathways program – in partnership with Midlands Technical College, as is our Early College program – awards dual enrollment or exemption credit for specified courses taken by students pursuing academic and/or career pathways in several areas, among them engineering technologies, information technology, health care, and a number of careers in the industrial and building fields. Collaborative partnerships with businesses, government agencies and higher education institutions result in opportunities for internships and advanced training for our high school students. Our district graduates are leaving Lexington Two not only with high school diplomas, but often professional certifications and college credits – and, in some cases, with completion of associate degrees and freshman-year college course requirements.
Lexington Two believes in providing lessons and systems that support developing the whole child and has worked to strengthen a multi-tiered system of supports for students. The district offers Lex2.5, a structured after-school program to provide students who are behind in academic readiness with remediation in missing foundational reading and math skills that they typically do not have time to address during the regular school day, yet hinder their success with accessing grade-level content. This program is accessible to all K5-12 students, with a varying structure by grade level. The program begins immediately after school at the school sites. Behavioral support, recreational opportunities, snacks, and bus transportation home also are provided. Lexington Two offers support to students through social workers and psychologists, as well as through intentional efforts to develop the academic and social behaviors students need for future success. To support the needs of district employees, the district offers Deer Oaks EAP Services’ Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which includes 4 confidential short-term counseling visits at no cost to employees and their families.
Lexington Two believes in the power of Professional Learning Communities, in place district-wide, to improve the educational quality of our schools. This culture permeates instructional planning and facilitates data-driven decision-making by teams of educators working collaboratively to effectively guide students’ learning of state standards across our schools. Two of our schools, Fulmer Middle and Busbee Creative Arts Academy, have been designated as Model Professional Learning Community Schools, 2 of just 6 middle schools in South Carolina and 444 schools in the United States. Our philosophy recognizes we champion individual students, and so we continue to monitor and adjust our instructional approaches and supports to yield maximum effectiveness.
Lexington Two’s goal is to produce graduates who are not only academically ready for college and career, but who are also engaged citizens. The district offers an array of extracurricular programs in the arts, music, athletics, leadership, student-led media, and business and technology. We emphasize service as an avenue to understanding the needs of the greater global community. In 2022-2023, students across all grade levels participated in service projects, from building training facilities for Dominion Energy, to collecting food and clothing for local organizations, to offering free family-friendly events to engage school families and the greater community. With the 2024 opening of the new Lexington Two Performing Arts Center (L2PAC), the district looks forward to having a state-of-the-art venue to support student performances, special events, professional development, and more to expand on our classroom instruction and community offerings.
Among the Class of 2023’s 481 graduates from our two high schools, there were 203 honor graduates (3.5 GPA or higher), 23 Palmetto Fellows, 32 LIFE (with enhancement) and 218 LIFE or HOPE (without enhancement) scholarship recipients, 36 Early College graduates, and 17 military enlistees. Our graduates earned $13 million in scholarships and saved $230,000-plus in professional certifications training in high school at the L2IC. Our students are gaining World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, ready for their next chapters in education, career and civic engagement.
