Academic Magnet High School continued our proud tradition of excellence in the face of the challenges of the 2021-2022 school year. Despite ongoing obstacles posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, students and staff persevered online and in person to deliver world class instruction and learning. The school’s reputation for academic excellence and learning integrity remained intact.
Academic Magnet High School continues to exemplify the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate through collaboration and creativity with families, students and teachers. The family/school partnership was strengthened in the 2021-2022 school year through new channels of communication between school leadership and families that heightened transparency and facilitated connectivity. In response to calls by parents for additional college support, we added resources - both staff and programming - that helped to prepare students to meet the next-step challenges at all grade levels.
Academic rigor remains the hallmark of AMHS with unprecedented Advanced Placement course offerings and a resultant culture of academic achievement beginning in 9th grade. In a continuation of excellence, this year, 603 AMHS students took 1719 AP exams, a record number. One hundred percent of Juniors and Seniors earned a passing score of 3 or higher on at least one AP exam during their tenure at AMHS.
Efforts to improve student diversity and reflection of the wider community continued this year with new initiatives to build relationships within our district-wide feeder pattern middle schools. The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation grant continues to support the implementation of access strategies for low-income middle school students and families in preparation for admission to AMHS.
Partnership with parent support groups remains one of the keys to student success at AMHS. Partners in Education (PIE), the AMHS Foundation, and the School Improvement Council are all integral to the AMHS mission of educating students. Collaborative efforts within and between these groups created opportunities during the 2021-2022 school year that could not be funded through our standard operational budget. Working in concert, the three groups achieved new levels of college readiness support, the post-pandemic return of 9th grade incoming student readiness programming, technology upgrades in support of student outcomes, and a monthly lecture series for all students with educational experts.
Students, families, and staff alike were thrilled to return to traditional, in-person high school experiences including football games, pep rallies, dances, and a fully attended graduation. This extraordinary graduating class of 166 students, boasting 15 National Merit finalists as well as 166 potential AP Capstone Diploma scholars, deserved every effort we could put forth to celebrate a return to normalcy.
It is notable that Academic Magnet High School was named the Number 2 public high school in the nation by US News and World Report 2022 for the third year in a row, marking four consecutive years of number 1 or 2 rankings. AMHS consistently ranks number 1 in South Carolina.
Go Raptors!
Jacob Perlmutter, Principal
Krysten Coulter, SIC Chairperson
