Charleston Charter School for Math and Science (CCSMS) engages all of our scholars in developing the world-class skills focused on in South Carolina’s Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. During the 23-24 school year, we continued to focus on identifying individual learning needs of our scholars and implementing specific supports where needed to help them meet their academic growth goals with the school leadership aligning this work with the charter’s renewed goals for the coming 10 years. Scholars continued to show growth in their literacy levels, which we know helps them also thrive in math and science in our STEM-focused curriculum. As CCSD meets its goals of more students reading on grade level by the end of 5th grade, we will work to sustain those gains and further strengthen their academic skills in middle school and high school.  

The CCSMS mission is to educate scholars for success in college and careers by providing an innovative learning environment that is academically excellent, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable. CCSMS families reflect the socio-economic and racial diversity of Charleston County, are committed to the mission of the school, and are genuine partners with CCSMS faculty and staff when developing reasonable expectations for our scholars. Our scholars and their families live throughout Charleston County School District with some walking to school just a few blocks and others riding a bus for nearly an hour.  

CCSMS recognizes there are opportunity gaps in our community that our scholars come to us with. Many of our scholars have their first taste of academic success with us when we meet them where they are and help them grow. We create opportunities for scholars to broaden their understanding of the world, to make authentic connections with complex problems, and to explore STEM careers and the varied academic pathways to attain them. 

All of our scholars are encouraged to combine their critical thinking skills with their creativity to solve real-world problems in our STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) courses and more traditional classes. Our scholars are encouraged to communicate in class through Socratic seminars where teachers are trained to facilitate discussions on the course content.  Scholars were immersed in career exploration through STEMester, which is a deep dive into issues facing our local community this year including our 6th graders taking on flooding in Charleston and high school scholars producing videos focused on issues personal to them while developing technical and 21st-century skills. 

Mary Carmichael, CCSMS Executive Principal and CEO

Russ Campbell, CCSMS Board Chair