During the 2018-19 school year, the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) taught curriculum and held campus-wide events that fostered student development based on the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate.
There are numerous factors that demonstrate the Governor’s School’s remarkable accomplishments and dedication to providing career and college readiness for every student. These include
- SAT, ACT, and AP scores that are consistently higher than the state and national averages
- Approximately 40 percent of seniors who were inducted into the National Honor Society
- Numerous academic honors given to
- 32 students who were named AP Scholars, including 12 with Honors and 4 with Distinction
- 25 students who were named Palmetto Fellows
- 7 students who were named National Merit Finalists and 2 were named National Merit Commended Students
- 30 students who were named Academic Achievement Award Scholars
- A 100 percent graduation rate, with almost every senior enrolling in a college, university, or professional dance program, while three students chose to pursue a gap year
- Scholarship offers that exceeded 32 million dollars for 109 graduates
Through the Governor’s School’s pre-professional arts training, students continued to develop creativity, range of skills, innovation, perseverance and work ethic which was recognized nationally with the following awards and accomplishments:
- Creative Writing students won 22 Gold Keys, 37 Silver Keys and 49 Honorable Mentions at the 2019 Scholastic Writing Awards Region-at-Large Competition and 3 Gold Medals and 3 Silver Medals in the national competition. One student was the only in the United States to become a Foyle Young Poet, an international competition held by the Poetry Society of London. One student was selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts—the Governor’s School’s 10th student selected for this prestigious honor. This student was also chosen as a YoungArts Finalists and attended National YoungArts Week in Miami.
- Dance seniors were recruited by 48 colleges, universities and conservatories across the United States. One student was 1-of-12 female dancers accepted annually into The Juilliard School’s Dance Division. Nine students were inducted into the National Honor Society for Dance Arts. A student received an Honorable Mention from the 2019 National Dance Education Organization. Another student’s choreographic work was chosen to be performed at the New Century Project in Salt Lake City.
- Drama seniors attended the Unified Theatre Auditions in Chicago and received offers from the nation’s top conservatory and college theatre programs. One student was chosen as a YoungArts Finalists and attended National YoungArts Week in Miami. All Drama seniors received certification in stage combat skills by Dueling Arts International.
- Music students placed in regional and national competitions, including the S.C. Music Teachers National Association National Competition, where a tubist was the national third place winner. Three students were selected for the National Youth Orchestra. Forty-six music students took a music tour of Germany, performing and attending concerts in Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin.
- Visual Arts students won 16 Gold Keys and 27 Silver Keys in the Scholastic Art Awards Region-at-Large competition and 4 Gold Medals and 4 Silver Medals in the national competition. Eight students exhibited at the 2019 Converse College Young Women in Art Competition, receiving Best in Show, First Place in Graphic Design, Second Place in Printmaking and an honorable mention in Ceramics. One student was a 2019 YoungArts Finalist and attended National YoungArts Week in Miami.
In addition to the training provided by the Governor’s School’s artist faculty, students also had the opportunity to learn and gain diverse perspectives from world-renowned guest artists. This year’s master classes were led by choreographers Alonzo King and Garth Fagan, actors Brandon Micheal Hall and Liza Bennett, musicians Paul Sanchez and Louise Toppin, authors David Joy and George Singleton, and visual artists Chad Curtis and Victor Zordan, just to name a few.
As part of the Humanities curriculum, students explore how they can benefit their community and discuss global perspectives on important issues that help them develop communication skills and integrity both as artists and citizens. They are also encouraged to participate in service learning opportunities through the Connecting Arts Through Service (CATS) club. During the 2018-19 school year, 85 students participated in CATS and engaged in 31 educationally rich community service experiences completing a combined total of more than 900 volunteer hours.
These outstanding student achievements are a direct result of the high level of artistic and academic excellence that the Governor’s School’s outstanding faculty and staff bring to their jobs every day. They continuously provide innovative learning experiences for students while pursuing professional development and remaining active and productive members of their academic and arts communities.
