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South Carolina Public Charter School District | |
---|---|
Location | |
1824 Barnwell Street Columbia, South Carolina, U.S. | |
District information | |
Grades | Pre-k–12th |
Established | 2006 |
Superintendent | Chris G. Neeley [1] |
Deputy superintendent(s) |
|
Chair of the board | John Payne [3] |
Schools | 38 |
Budget | $3.45 million |
NCES District ID | 4503901 [4] |
District ID | 4701 |
Students and staff | |
Students | 17,100 (2022) |
Teachers | 1244 [5] |
Staff | 31 FTEs (full-time equivalent) [6] |
Student–teacher ratio | 13.45:1 |
Other information | |
Website | www |
The South Carolina Public Charter School District (often shortened to SCPCSD) is a school district based in Columbia, South Carolina that currently includes thirty eight public charter schools across the state of South Carolina. The district has approximately 17,500 students.
The South Carolina Public Charter School District is semi-unique in the United States for being one of the few public school districts that span the entire state.
SCPCSD is provided funding based on student population by a local school district. The South Carolina state legislature appropriates a per pupil amount through an annual budget proviso––$3,600/student for those attending a brick-and-mortar school, $1,900 for those enrolled in a virtual school and 4,300/student for those enrolled in a special education program.
Another way for a public charter school to open in South Carolina is through the auspices of a local public school district. However, many such traditional districts are hesitant to open public charter schools for a variety of reasons. The SCPCSD was created as a charter school authorizer by the state legislature as an alternative method for public charter schools to be approved for operation in the state. The state legislature did this, in part, to resolve various legal questions regarding resource allocation for public charter schools in local districts. In addition, the legislature hoped that a little competition with local school districts might lead to greater reform for the state's historically lagging public school system.
The district oversees the following public schools, of which some are traditional "brick and mortar" schools and some are virtual schools: [7]
School name | Location | Grades |
---|---|---|
Bettis Preparatory Leadership Academy | Trenton | K–8 |
Bridges Preparatory School | Beaufort | K–12 |
Butler Academy | Hartsville | K–6 |
Calhoun Falls Charter School | Calhoun Falls | 6–12 |
Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School | McClellanville | PK-8 |
Charleston Advancement Academy | Charleston | 9-12 |
Coastal Leadership Academy | Myrtle Beach | 9–12 |
Compass Collegiate Academy | Charleston | K-2 |
East Link Academy | Greenville | PK-8 |
East Point Academy | Cayce | PK-8 |
Felton Laboratory Charter School | Orangeburg | K-8 |
Fox Creek High School | North Augusta | 9–12 |
GREEN Charter School of Greenville | Greenville | K-8 |
GREEN Charter School of Spartanburg | Spartanburg | K-8 |
GREEN Charter School of the Lowcountry | Charleston | K-8 |
GREEN Charter School of the Midlands | Irmo | K-8 |
GREEN Upstate High School | Simpsonville | 9-12 |
Greenville Technical Charter High School | Greenville | 9-12 |
Greer Middle College Charter High School | Taylors | 9-12 |
High Point Academy | Spartanburg | PK-12 |
Imagine Columbia Leadership Academy | Columbia | K–5 |
Lakes and Bridges Charter School | Easley | 1-8 |
LEAD Academy | Greenville | K-8 |
Learn4Life High School Charleston | Charleston | 9-12 |
Legacy Early College | Greenville | PK-12 |
Liberty STEAM Charter School | Sumter | K-2 |
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy | North Charleston | 9-12 |
Lowcountry Montessori School | Beaufort | PK–12 |
Meyer Center for Special Children | Greenville | PK-2 |
Midlands Arts Conservatory | Columbia | 6-11 |
Midlands Middle College | Columbia | 11-12 |
Palmetto Achievement Center for Excellence Academy (PACE) | Columbia | 2-8 |
Palmetto Scholars Academy | North Charleston | 6–12 |
Pee Dee Math, Science and Technology Academy | Bishopville | K–12 |
Polaris Tech Charter School | Ridgeland | 5-12 |
Riverwalk Academy | Rock Hill | K–12 |
Royal Live Oaks Academy of Arts & Sciences | Hardeeville | K–8 |
SC Whitmore School | virtual school | 9–12 |
South Carolina Science Academy | Columbia | 6–11 |
South Carolina Virtual Charter School | virtual school | K–12 |
Spartanburg Preparatory School | Spartanburg | K–10 |
Tall Pines STEM Academy | Aiken | 5–8 |
York Preparatory Academy | Rock Hill | K–12 |
Youth Leadership Academy (affiliated with Clemson University) | Pickens | 6–8 |
Many of the district's virtual learning schools use an education management company. In some states, these companies are for-profit, yet in South Carolina these companies are prohibited by law from being for-profit. The schools are actually different entities than the management companies that serve the schools. For example, Palmetto State e-Cademy changed its education management company in 2009, which demonstrates that the school is broader than the hired management company. Palmetto State e-Cademy later decided that it could operate without an EMO and has been operating that way for the last two years. In practice, the line between school and education management company can be difficult to see, but the law in South Carolina is clear in making an operational and organizational distinction between the education management companies and the schools.
South Carolina is a state in the coastal Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia to the southwest across the Savannah River. Along with North Carolina, it makes up the Carolinas region of the East Coast. South Carolina is the 40th-largest and 23rd-most populous U.S. state with a recorded population of 5,118,425 according to the 2020 census. In 2019, its GDP was $213.45 billion. South Carolina is composed of 46 counties. The capital is Columbia with a population of 136,632 in 2020; while its most populous city is Charleston with a 2020 population of 150,227. The Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area is the most populous combined metropolitan area in the state, with an estimated 2023 population of 1,590,636.
Columbia is the capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populous city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. It is the center of the Columbia, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 858,302 in 2023, and is the 70th-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States. The name Columbia is a poetic term used for the United States, derived from the name of Christopher Columbus, who explored for the Spanish Crown. Columbia is often abbreviated as Cola, leading to its nickname as "Soda City".
Greenville County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 525,534, making it the most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is also home to the Greenville County School District, the largest school system in South Carolina.
Abbeville County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,295. Its county seat is Abbeville. It is the first county in the United States alphabetically. Abbeville County included in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC Combined Statistical Area, known colloquially as the Upstate or the Upcountry.
Mullins is a city in Marion County, South Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,663.
Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) groups Spartanburg and Union counties together as the Spartanburg, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Charter schools in the United States are primary or secondary education institutions which receive government funding but operate with a degree of autonomy or independence from local public school districts. Charter schools have a contract with local public school districts or other governmental authorizing bodies that allow them to operate. These contracts, or charters, are how charter schools bear their name. Charter schools are open to all students, depending on capacity, and do not charge tuition. 7.4 percent of all public school students attended a charter school in the 2021–2022 school year.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort is a public college with three campuses in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. It is part of the University of South Carolina System, enrolls about 2,000 students, and offers over 50 areas of study. The main campus is in Bluffton. The institution's campus in Beaufort houses the school's honor programs and the Department of Visual Arts & Design. The campus location on Hilton Head Island is home to the institution's program for hospitality management.
The University of South Carolina is a public research university in Columbia, South Carolina. It is the flagship of the University of South Carolina System and the largest university in the state by enrollment. Its main campus is on over 359 acres (145 ha) in downtown Columbia, close to the South Carolina State House. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities with Highest Research Activity". It houses the largest collection of Robert Burns and Scottish literature materials outside Scotland and the world's largest Ernest Hemingway collection.
Palmetto may refer to:
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The Clemson–South Carolina rivalry is an American collegiate athletic rivalry between the Clemson University Tigers and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, the two largest universities in the state of South Carolina. Since 2015, the two compete in the Palmetto Series, which consists of more than a dozen athletic, head-to-head matchups each school year. South Carolina leads the all-sport series 5–1, after Clemson won the 2023–24 series. Both institutions are public universities supported by the state, and their campuses are separated by only 132 miles. South Carolina and Clemson have been bitter rivals since 1896, and a heated rivalry continues to this day for a variety of reasons, including the historic tensions regarding their respective charters and the passions surrounding their athletic programs. It has often been listed as one of the best rivalries in college sports.
Stride, Inc. is a for-profit education company that provides online and blended education programs. Stride, Inc. is an education management organization (EMO) that provides online education designed as an alternative to traditional "brick and mortar" education for public school students from kindergarten to 12th grade, as well as career learning programs. As of 2012, publicly traded Stride, Inc. was the largest EMO in terms of enrollment.
National Heritage Academies, Inc. (NHA) is a for-profit education management organization headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As of the 2019-20 school year, NHA operates 88 charter schools in nine states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, New York, North Carolina, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, and Wisconsin. NHA is the largest charter school operator in Michigan and one of the largest charter school operators in the United States. NHA schools are prominent among charter institutions for employing the brick and mortar or traditional school concept. It has been accused of profiting from tax-payers money and is in the process of selling over two-thirds of its schools, financed by taxes to a new corporation which will become its real estate arm.
Imagine Schools is a charter management organization in the United States, operating 55 schools in 9 states. They are K-8, for the most part. In 2015, Imagine schools had enrolled 29,812 students.
Primavera Online School is a publicly funded charter school serving grades K–12 in Arizona. The school was founded in 2001 by Damian Creamer and was made possible by a program established by the Arizona Legislature in 1998. Primavera targets students at risk of not graduating from conventional high schools, estimating that 70% of their students are high risk. In 2018 Primavera was ranked the #2 charter school in Arizona. Primavera added grades K-5 in partnership with Sequoia Choice for the 2020/2021 school year.
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autonomy for accountability, that it is freed from the rules but accountable for results.
The Palmetto State Teachers Association( PSTA) is the largest professional organization for educators in the U.S. state of South Carolina. PSTA was founded in 1976 as a non-profit organization and currently has 12,500 member teachers.