Northwestern experienced another banner year as we continue to build on the tradition of "Trojan Excellence" expected by our community. Our faculty's expectations for high levels of instruction are embedded in the culture of our school. With high standards as our goal, Northwestern made significant strides this year serving a population of over 1700 students. Northwestern prides itself in creating environments where our entire population can experience success and achieve excellence as they pursue a high school diploma!
In the 2023 graduating class, a multitude of seniors graduated with Highest Honors. Northwestern High School continued to produce scholars performing extremely well within the advanced studies program. The number of Gold Seal Diploma students increased again this year, and the number of students graduating with seals of distinction was over 200 for the second consecutive year. The hard work of the class of 2023 graduates paid dividends as the combined monetary value of all scholarships awarded exceeded 15 million dollars.
Our athletic and fine arts programs performed extremely well this school year. As expected, our programs excelled in several areas and were competitive at the state and district level. Academically, Northwestern High School continued to shine, and the class of 2023 proved to carry forward our tradition of excellence.
Northwestern takes extreme pride in helping all students develop the world-class skills identified in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Dedication to targeted instruction has earned our faculty members local, state, and national honors and awards. Our "Programs of Study" include CATE, Dual Credit, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Project Lead the Way.
As an accredited institution and flag-ship school, Northwestern continues to meet learners at their levels of need. Our focus areas for this year included building highly functioning PLCs and continuing to develop our support systems through a comprehensive approach to Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). Northwestern's approach to MTSS affords students remediation and enrichment opportunities that address academic and social/emotional needs.
Additionally, our redesigned PLCs focus on student achievement through data dialogues. One of the most impactful components of our MTSS offerings includes our Senior Success and Freshman Focus programs. Senior Success involves counselors, administrators, teachers, and other support staff who monitor progress and guide seniors through their efforts to obtain 24 Carnegie units of credit and graduate on time based on their 9GR. Our Freshman Focus program consists of students, teachers, support staff, and administrators who all work tirelessly to provide a seamless transition for our 9th-grade students even before they arrive on our campus. This program involves continually monitoring student success throughout their first year on campus. Students who need support are paired with mentors with the goal of helping those Freshmen to obtain enough credits to move to the next grade level.
Doing things the "Trojan Way," we have embedded an MTSS system, using the acronym "TORCH," representing the five tenets of our school culture. Tenacity, Ownership, Respect, Community, and Honor represent traits we have identified as key to students' success in life and at Northwestern.
Our school also places emphasis on the relationships students build outside of the classroom and their connections through our various extracurricular programs. Northwestern High School's performing and visual arts program produces many South Carolina All-State performers. Our students routinely exhibit artwork in local and state competitions, with many pieces receiving top honors as well.
Northwestern High School's numerous student-athletes and 20 varsity teams set the bar high for competition on the field again in 2023 with All-Region, All-Area, and All-state recognition. Our school also recognized over 300 scholar-athletes this year, which proves our commitment to building scholarly athletes. Northwestern's ambition to push the envelope of excellence for students was confirmed by the efforts of our athletic department to raise close to 100K for athletic facility renovations this year. This year was truly another banner year for Trojan Nation.
Northwestern High School's mission continues to focus on excellent academic, artistic, and athletic experiences for its students. This school year affirmed that we are on the right course to achieve our goals.
Hezekiah Massey III, Principal
