At South Aiken High School our school motto, Every Thoroughbred, Every Day, All Means All, is the foundation upon which we build our school. From our faculty, staff, and students to our parents and community members, South Aiken High School is committed to creating a school culture that focuses on guiding students to reach their full potential. Our school is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
Serving a diverse population of 1344 students, South Aiken High School offers a rigorous and varied curriculum that emphasizes college preparation and career readiness. From our graduating class of 2018, 85% of our students have indicated they will attend a post-secondary institution while 15% will join the workforce or military. Through a partnership with two local colleges 97% of our students who pursued dual enrollment coursework opportunities were highly successful and five students qualified to participate in the Governor School’s Accelerate program. Students participating in Career and Technical Education programs including marketing, welding, culinary and business have increased their completion rate by 19%. Community business partners worked alongside school personnel to connect students to work base learning and internship opportunities within our community. South Aiken participated in a school-wide job shadowing initiative providing every student with exposure to a wide variety of career experiences including soft-skill training, resume building, interview skills, and interpersonal skills.
South Aiken High School is one of two district schools to qualify as an AP Academy. Advanced Placement, developed and overseen through College Board, allows students to take college level courses in a high school environment with the potential to earn a college credit. At South Aiken, students can choose from 21 different AP course offerings and the school is working to add two new AP courses to the master schedule for the 2018-2019 school year. Through our AP course work, students frequently engage in problem solving, teamwork, and synthesizing, analysis, and product creation to demonstrate mastery of content. The 2017-2018 school year saw an increase in AP enrollment of 9.7% and student course requests for 2018-2019 project that 40% of our student body enrolled in AP coursework. South Aiken High School is entering its third year in partnership with the National Math and Science Initiative where the school community focuses on embracing an AP culture. The AP Mentor Exchange Program allows community business partners who support the NMSI initiative to participate in a panel discussion about career opportunities with juniors enrolled in STEM AP coursework. Exposure to the rigor and high expectations of AP coursework helps students build critical thinking skills, confidence, and the essential time-management and study skills needed for career and college success.
South Aiken also offers many extracurricular and athletic opportunities which helps build a well-rounded student body. One of South Aiken’s 2018 graduates became the 2017 South Carolina Wendy’s High School Heisman Winner. Our NJROTC, Serteens Club, and National Honor Society dedicated over 5,000 hours to community service projects including a mentor program the ROTC completed with one of our elementary feeder schools. The NJROTC Cyber Patriot Team also acquired the award as a Distinguished Unit with Honors based on their academic excellence, placing them in the top 5% of NJROTC nationwide. Our Welding Fabrication team won the SC Skills USA Championship event. They will attend the national competition in Louisville, Kentucky in June. Calliope, our school literary magazine, received superior and excellent awards by the Scholastic Press association and placed 2nd nationally with the American SPA. South Aiken’s Drama club earned Best Supporting Actor, Best Actor, Best Sound, and Best Tech-Coordinator by the South Carolina Theater Association. DECA had 18 first place winners at state competition while 24 students qualified to attend the International Competition. Junior Susie Reeves won the title of VP of Marketing for the state of South Carolina for the 2018-2019 school year. These and many other activities give South Aiken students the opportunity to develop work ethic, gain global perspective, increase interpersonal skills and self-direction, and promote integrity.
In 2018, three Thoroughbred students gained recognition as CSRA’s Top 20 Best and Brightest and 22 students earned Senior Scholar Medallions at the first annual Aiken County School District Recognition Banquet. These graduating seniors ranked in the top 10% of their class, had a minimum 3.8 GPA, and no grades less than a B in any course for 15 consecutive quarters. In the 2017-2018 school year, South Aiken High School qualified to participate in the first round for Palmetto’s Finest. Newsweek ranks South Aiken High School as 11th in the state. Every Thoroughbred, Every Day, All Means All rings through our halls and defines what it means to be a part of our South Aiken High School community. South Aiken High School’s focus on accelerated learning opportunities for every student and commitment to continuous reflection and refinement of our curriculum is the driving force behind our goal for academic excellence.
Jill W. Jett, Principal
