The faculty and staff at Emerald High School help students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate through various avenues which include, but are not limited to, project-based learning, AVID WICOR strategies, and our school-wide approach to balanced literacy. Emerald’s environment allows students to develop necessary skills in the appropriate use of media and technology, which has resulted in more student engagement in the learning environment. Through student-centered experiences, EHS students are not only taught content that aligns to South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards, but they also develop the necessary life skills for functioning in our society.
Gaining proficiency in the diverse technological resources provided by our district, Emerald students have tremendous opportunities to collaborate with one another and with members of the community as they develop sustainable solutions for real-world problems. Our students also engage in activities that require them to be creative, think critically, communicate effectively, and collaborate with others. Emerald students also take advantage of collaborative tech tools to interact with community members of all industries. By receiving authentic feedback from members of our community, who reflect all sectors of industry, our students are challenged to work together to consider the wide range of implications connected to their initiatives.
Enhanced by the PBL culture at EHS, our STEM-focused courses provide opportunities for students to explore subjects related to networking, Project Lead The Way, and computer science. Our successfully piloted Aerospace Engineering curriculum, initiated in the 2017-2018 school year, provides students with opportunities to excel in mathematics and science. Since its inception in 2017, eleven students have successfully completed the four-course curriculum with a cohort of their peers. The program has grown immensely, and the course enrollment for the incoming class of freshmen in 2024-2025 is three times the size of our first cohort.
Teacher-leaders at EHS continue to train their peers in effective strategies for the successful implementation of PBLs in their courses. As these teachers have grown more comfortable with the various components of the PBL, they have become more creative in incorporating meaningful PBLs throughout their courses of study. Our students will continue to thrive because of the permeated PBL culture at EHS.
Faculty and staff members at Emerald High School continue to build meaningful relationships with students through our various mentoring programs that are tied to our EHS MTSS site team. In addition, faculty and staff collaborate to make data-informed decisions concerning the individual needs of our students. Such an approach allows us to focus on students' personal, social, and academic growth, resulting in individualized, tiered interventions for our students.
Jamie Blount Denise Lollis
Principal SIC Chairperson
