Mid-Carolina High School is a school with a proud past and a promising future. MCHS continued its long-standing tradition of excellence during the 2022-2023 school year.
Our school is helping all students develop world class knowledge, world class skills, and essential life and career characteristics, as outlined by the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. We are committed to helping our students develop their individual talents beyond the classroom walls. We believe that engaging students in educationally rich experiences will ensure their success in becoming life-long learners. We believe that every student deserves the opportunity to receive an equitable and valuable education so that they can enrich others’ lives with their knowledge and character. Respect and appreciation for others’ ideas benefit everyone, and because of this sentiment, we believe that every individual must have a caring, inviting, safe, and healthy environment in which to work and learn.
We acknowledge that learning is a life-long process and every individual should participate in a variety of authentic experiences in order to promote and reinforce self-directed learning strategies; therefore, our school has adopted to design and develop well-engineered tools for formative and summative assessments that expose students to deeper levels of understanding and reasoning that improve student achievement. This unique style of instruction provides students with standards-driven assignments that are rigorous, increases teachers’ knowledge and expertise of instructional planning, and radically changes the expectations for students’ ability to read and write in depth.
Our teachers prepare daily lesson plans that are based on preparing students to become college and career ready by utilizing innovative literacy goals. Teachers plan and implement instructional strategies that require student collaboration, self-reflection, effective questioning and the development of critical thinking skills.
Students develop skills through structured studies of language, texts, and independent reading. In addition to reading analysis, students hone their written and oral communication skills by engaging in a variety of instructional activities: quick writes, collaborative evaluation of texts, and creating original literary works. In all math classes, students develop multiple degrees of problem-solving capabilities, examine practical applications, and sharpen other finite skills through self-discovery. As a school, we will continue to focus on increasing reading and writing across all contents.
As it relates to languages, science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), arts, and social sciences, we offer multiple levels of all subjects and continue to provide our students with rigorous courses including various AP courses. In the social studies department, we heavily emphasize that students learn the essential elements of data collection and synthesis, primary source analysis, and responsible citizenship within the local and global community. The arts program is marked by high student participation, numerous recognitions, and community service. Students in these courses develop knowledge and appreciation for the arts through the analysis and manipulation of aesthetics.
Creativity is promoted across the curriculum. In multiple content areas, students are encouraged to take ownership of their education with personal writing samples, visual projects, speeches, and other forms of performance. Students are also encouraged to utilize their creative skills when solving real-world application problems. Our student-led news program, which features school, local, and world news, is one example of the numerous outlets our school has that allows students’ talents to be displayed.
Our teachers model positive behavior and encourage students to do the same. Students are taught character development, as our school reinforces that students should always do what is right, even when an audience is not present. Teaching students about character is an integral part of our educational process.
Self-direction is developed when teachers and administrators foster students’ needs for independence. Our guidance department empowers our students to have self-direction when assisting them in completing Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs). Also, our school takes pride in the leadership opportunities offered to students through clubs and programs such as: Student Council, JROTC, Service Learning, Beta Club, etc. Students have an abundance of opportunities to develop leadership skills that will enable them to become the leaders of tomorrow.
Students are taught to have a Global perspective by studying current events in Current Issues. We also develop perseverance in our students when teachers allow them to remediate assignments. They learn to rise above disappointment or failure and attempt to improve not only their grades, but also their understanding of essential concepts. Consequently, their work ethic is developed when teachers refuse to accept mediocrity or quitting. Students are expected to work to the best of their abilities on a consistent basis.
Finally, interpersonal skills are developed when teachers teach students how to effectively work with others, even when they fear the possibility of an unequal workload. As students enter the workforce, they will have to learn to efficiently complete collaborative projects with those who have various backgrounds, work ethics, skill levels, and personalities; therefore, we must continue to enhance students’ collaborative skills throughout their high school careers.
Stewart Lake, School Improvement Council Chair
Ray Cooper, Principal
