South Carolina’s worst public schools (2008-09 list)

Each year the Education Oversight Committee (EOC) releases report cards for the public schools and public school districts in South Carolina. Based on the 2008-09 cards we have already observed:

“Sadly this is more of the same news we have been receiving from the other indicators in the last two years – if you are poor or black, you are further behind your wealthy or white peers in South Carolina, and if you are lucky enough to live in one of the “good” districts you are still not regionally or nationally competitive”

Now, here is a full list of all the public schools which received failing (or, to put it politically, “at-risk”) ratings. The list format is:

District Name:
SCHOOL NAME  (# of students)   (Elem, Middle or High )    (“Persistent” for schools with 2 or more years on list)

Abbeville:

CALHOUN FALLS HIGH 238 M Persistent

Aiken:

RIDGE SPRING-MONETTA ELEMENTARY 673 M Persistent

LLOYD-KENNEDY CHARTER SCHOOL 31 M Persistent

MIDLAND VALLEY PREPARATORY SCHOOL 166 M

RIDGE SPRING-MONETTA ELEMENTARY 673 E Persistent

A L CORBETT MIDDLE 248 M

Failing Charleston schools slated for closure

An article in The Post and Courier describes the Charleston County School District’s efforts to cut expenditures during a time of projected shortfalls.

In the article, various Charleston County residents lament potential school closings and affirm their commitment to keeping the schools open.

While some of these schools may be a long-time part of local communities and provide fond memories for certain graduates, many are not fulfilling their purpose of effectively educating students.

One Wadmalaw Island resident said of Frierson Elementary School-

‘It’s everything to us,’ she said. ‘Taking the school away from us is like taking a member of a family away. It’s like dismantling a community. That’s what keeps us together.’”

This is an understandable sentiment, but is not supported by an objective look at the school’s educational quality.

Worst Public Schools in South Carolina (list)

Have a child or grandchild in grades Kindergarten through eighth grade? You need to check this list!

Yesterday’s revelation that a mere 1-in-5 public school has met federal AYP performance standards was a huge blow to Jim Rex and his monolithic big government education machine.

Now we have more details about the 715 of 875 elementary and middle schools that failed, and about those schools for which failure is a long term trend.

Below is a detailed list of the K-8 public schools which not only failed to meet their standards this year, but which have a history of sustained annual failure.

While all public schools in South Carolina are under-performing by national and international standards, these 256 schools are the absolute bottom of the barrel:

ABBEVILLE WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY

AIKEN JEFFERSON ELEMENTARY