“Our school is helping all of its students develop the world-class skills and life career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.” We accomplish this by promoting the skills necessary for students to experience success in the workforce as well as in post-secondary educational opportunities.
Notably, the 2017-2018 school year was a year marked by great progress for our students as we sought to provide varied opportunities for post-secondary options. Our seniors demonstrated their preparation for the work force as they excelled above state averages on the ELA and Math portions of the ACT WorkKeys. We had 100% of our seniors apply to colleges and/or universities. Our juniors and seniors were exposed to various in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities through the Ed-Op program. Students in all grade levels were taken for campus visits at two different in-state colleges. Juniors and seniors participating in our Teacher Cadet program have been actively mentoring freshman students through their homeroom classes each week.
Equally important, our dual enrollment program has successfully completed its 6th year and now offers 45 hours of potential college credit. We offer a Teacher Cadet program, four History courses, four Math courses, including Calculus, two Biology courses, and we were excited to add English 101 and 102 back to curriculum this year. In addition to these 45 hours of credit, we also offer AP English Literature and AP English Language. We have expanded our career and technology courses, and now offer eight different electives pertaining to business and marketing, as well as new courses in engineering and sports medicine.
In addition, our fine arts program has made significant strides over the last year. Our band director created the school's first ever competitive marching band. The drama department has also taken off. The students hosted two productions this year. The success of the drama classes has lead to the creation of additional drama classes and new classes on sets and design.
Furthermore, we are very proud of the continued personal growth of our educators. At least 65% of our faculty for the new year will have a Masters Degree or higher. We also have two teachers who will complete advanced level programs to add on to their current level of education. Our faculty’s commitment to self-improvement has only served to better our school.
Ultimately, we look forward to continued progress in the 2018-2019 school year. We always operate on the belief that if we slow down, we will start moving backward. With that belief in mind, we embrace the new school year as we look forward to many outstanding student successes!
A. Josh Trahan
