The faculty and staff of Beechwood Middle School (BMS) are committed to helping every student learn, grow and excel. Anchored in the Lexington One Graduate Profile, we foster a safe environment where we build strong relationships to cultivate globally minded, well-rounded early adolescent leaders. Our goal is to ensure students are prepared for their future and ready to positively impact society, which perfectly embodies our school motto: "Lead Locally, Serve Globally." The 2025–26 school year was one of strong achievement, community impact and academic growth for our Bengals.
Academic Excellence and Future Readiness: We are incredibly proud to announce that BMS increased its overall South Carolina School Report Card rating from "Good" to "Excellent," and improved our "Student Progress" rating two levels from "below average" to "good." In recognition of this incredible growth, BMS was awarded a "Gold" banner of distinction from the State Superintendent of Education for exemplary academic performance.
Our students continue to demonstrate the world-class knowledge necessary for postsecondary success. This year, 40 students qualified as SC Junior Scholars, 80 rising seventh graders were inducted into the Junior Beta Club, and 16 students achieved perfect scores on the SC Ready ELA and/or Math assessments. To prepare for life after middle school, 94.7% of our eighth-grade students enrolled in high school credit-bearing courses, and 100% completed their Individual Graduation Plans alongside a counselor and family member. Fostering a deep love of literacy, our students checked out over 14,000 books and logged more than 860,000 minutes of reading.
Developing World-Class Skills Through Arts and Athletics: BMS students continually build collaboration, communication and resilience through our thriving arts and athletics programs. The fine arts department achieved stellar milestones, with both our band and orchestra programs earning Superior ratings at the Concert Performance Assessment (CPA). Incredibly, the BMS Band secured the SCBDA Outstanding Performance Award for the fifth consecutive year, while the orchestra earned it for the fourth. Our musical theater students shined in a massive production of School of Rock, and our visual arts students had 24 pieces selected for the South Carolina State Fair, including a first-place winner in 2D art.
Athletically, the Bengals displayed incredible grit. Our Girls Track team brought home first place in the LexTen Track Championship, our eighth-grade football team won the Lex10 North Division Championship, and our seventh-grade football team finished their season undefeated. Beyond traditional sports, the BMS Archery Team qualified for Nationals for the first time in school history, and the Bengal Bots robotics team dominated by taking first place in a regional tournament and third place at the state level. We also proudly hosted UNIFIED Basketball and Cheer events to celebrate our incredible Special Olympic athletes, highlighting our commitment to an inclusive environment.
Life and Career Characteristics: Serving Globally: Helping students develop empathy and civic responsibility — core tenets of the Lexington One Graduate Profile — is central to Beechwood. This year, all students participated in an emergency preparedness community service experience that culminated in the creation of "Lexington Ready," a website designed to increase local community awareness.
Our students took initiative to impact the world around them, donating more than $4,700 to Sister Care through the Miss Beechwood Pageant, raising $845 for World Central Kitchen to support Jamaican hurricane recovery, and collecting essential supplies for LRADAC MOMS. Furthermore, our school’s commitment to the environment and holistic wellness earned BMS the title of 2025 Green Steps School of the Year and an "All-Star Winner" recognition from America's Healthiest Schools.
The BMS School Improvement Council (SIC) actively supports this culture by honoring a student who exemplifies the Lexington One Graduate Profile and our "Lead Locally, Serve Globally" mission. We are endlessly grateful for the hard work of our students, the expertise of our outstanding faculty, and the unwavering support of our Beechwood families.
Leah Sarantopoulos, Principal
Rosalind Thompson, SIC Chair
