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. In Richland Two, we take pride in being a district of choice. 

In partnership with our community, we 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 : creativity and innovation; critical thinking and problem solving; collaboration and teamwork; communication, information, media and technology; and knowing how to learn.

The district is home to Fort Jackson, the country’s largest Army training base, and has a high concentration of military veterans. The number of military affiliated students in Richland Two during the 2022-23 school year was 3,627 which is 12.7% of our students. We pride ourselves on being recognized as a Purple Star District.

Our 2022-23 graduates set a new district record earning more than 168 million dollars in scholarship offers. 

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). 

Kirstin Bullington, R2i2’s Clean Energy and Engineering teacher, is a finalist for the National Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. R2i2 was also recently awarded a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that the Lemelson-MIT team developed. This was based on a partnership between R2i2 and a school in Senegal addressing their intermittent power issues.

The Student Innovation Center at R212 offers the first Electric Vehicle class in the state, preparing students for the growing EV industry here in South Carolina. 

Blythewood High School has garnered national attention for producing biodiesel fuel in the Bengal Biodiesel Lab, only the second of its kind in the country. 

Richland Two also formalized a partnership, Premier to Career, with the City of Columbia to offer paid internships for students to expand their career opportunities. AVID Early College graduated the 6th and largest cohort of students to date. These students graduated from Richland 2 while receiving associate degrees at the same time from USC, Sumter saving families $25,000 towards their children’s college educations. The Dominion Energy Power Forward Program continues as a partnership with USC’s Darla Moore School of Business and Richland Two to increase student awareness in business related careers.

Students and staff continue to enjoy the benefits of the passage of the $468 million bond referendum from November 2018. More equitable learning spaces and athletic facilities have been constructed, and new safety enhancements are giving students peace of mind.  Since the passing of this referendum, the district has completed 47 construction projects across the district.  Those projects include secure entrances to all of our schools, new athletic facilities for our high schools including football stadiums, 2 rebuilt elementary schools, a new magnet center to replace portables, a rebuilt middle school, and many renovations and additions across our schools.  Currently construction is underway on a Performing Arts Center and other renovation needs across the district with about 30 projects remaining to complete the bond work.  Additionally, the bond has covered safety upgrades on new camera systems, door locks and other initiatives along with major upgrades with our IT infrastructure and the purchase of 25 new Richland Two school buses.  The most impressive part is that as of June 2023, all money has been borrowed and there has not been a single tax increase and we do not anticipate any tax increase through the borrowing of almost a half a billion dollars.

The opportunities are endless for Richland Two students to achieve the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. There is something for everyone in Richland Two. We offer 37 lottery-based and selective magnets for schoolwide and school-within-a-school programs. Thirty-one are nationally certified magnets and 15 are Demonstration Magnet Schools. These schools have met rigorous National Magnet Standards of Excellence set by the National Institute for Magnet School Leadership. Demonstration schools serve as innovation laboratories for others to learn best practices in theme-based education. Other awards include the following:

• 2023 Donna Grady-Creer District Award for Magnet Sustainability

• 2023 National Magnet Teacher of the Year, Emily Eberlin, Leadership Academy Magnet Lead Teacher at Muller Road Middle

• 2023 Region IV Magnet Principal of the Year, Tamala Ashford, Principal at Dent Middle School

• Two 2023 MSA Merit Awards of Excellence (Bridge Creek, Spring Valley)

Three 2023 MSA Merit Awards of Distinction (Ridge View, North Springs, Sandlapper)

• A culminating project of the k-12 continuum created an opportunity for students to design and develop “MedVenture,”  an exhibit at Edventure Children’s Museum that gives children an opportunity to explore careers in the medical profession

• 2023 Computer Science Teachers Association Equity Fellow, Tim Swick, Computer Science Immersion Magnet Lead Teacher at Sandlapper Elementary

• And the 2023 Lower Midlands Regional Teacher to Watch and National Outstanding American Heart Challenge Coordinator, Betsy Dew, Lead Teacher for the Academy of Exercise Physiology and Sports Medicine (Get Fit)

Richland Two continues to be a trailblazer in providing excellent communication, information, media and technology to students and staff. The district 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. Richland Two employs 264 teachers with the distinction of earning National Board Certification, the most respected professional certification in K-12 education. 

Bobby Cunningham, principal of the W. R. Rogers Adult, Continuing & Technology Education Center in Richland School District Two is one of four school leaders from the state selected by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators(SCASA) as a 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award winner. In addition, Dr. Kendra Hill, principal of Bookman Road Elementary School, was recognized as SCASA’s Elementary Principal of the Year.

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation  announced that six recent graduates in Richland School District Two are among over 3,000 winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by U.S. colleges and universities. Chosen from a talent pool of more than 15,000 outstanding finalists, two students in Richland School District Two were selected as National Merit $2,500 Scholarship winners. Stephanie A. Babinec and Madison K. Han, both of Spring Valley High School, are scholarship recipients. Babinec and Han are two of 36 seniors in South Carolina receiving the scholarships. In addition, Cathy Tang, a Spring Valley senior was named a Presidential Scholar, one of only two students in South Carolina and sixty students named in the nation.

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,

Nancy J. Gregory

Interim Superintendent