The sub-grants were awarded by the South Carolina Department of Education from Charter School Program funds received from the U.S. Department of Education to support the creation of additional high-quality charter schools. The funds were also designated to assist the Palmetto State in disseminating information about charter school planning, design and implementation.

"High-quality charter schools let parents, teachers and community members create innovative and flexible ways to educate children within the public school system," said State Superintendent of Education James Rex. "These grants are one way that we can help community groups who want to give this option a try.”

Charter schools are public schools, designed and operated with significant autonomy by educators, parents, community leaders, educational entrepreneurs and others. They are sponsored either by local school district boards of trustees or the South Carolina Public Charter School District’s board of trustees. The sponsoring boards then monitor charter school quality and effectiveness.

Charter schools also operate with some freedom from local mandates, state laws and regulations. They are designed to increase learning opportunities for students; encourage the use of various productive teaching methods; establish new forms of school accountability; create professional opportunities for teachers; and assist the state in reaching academic excellence.

In 1996, the South Carolina General Assembly approved legislation allowing the development of charter schools within the state's system of public education. South Carolina's 29 charter schools serve approximately 5,200 public school students.

Recipients with ties to the Upstate are below:

Blue Ocean Charter Academy, Statewide, Grades K-12
To serve as a virtual charter school open to the entire state population of students. To offer students the flexibility of virtual instruction that is delivered in the comfort and safety of their own home environment and that allows students to learn at their own pace and with personalized support.

Jonesville Lockhart Charter School, Union, (SCPCSD) Grades K-12
To provide a safe learning environment that enables all students to achieve their best, while also challenging these students to become lifelong learners, independent thinkers, respectful individuals, and responsible citizens, thus preparing them for a 21st-Century global economy.

South Carolina Connections Academy, SCPCSD, Grades K-12
To provide individualized instruction tailored to the learning needs of students throughout South Carolina who seek an alternative to the traditional classroom. The virtual learning approach is a choice for under-served students who have chronic illness, who are gifted or struggling, those living in isolated rural areas with limited access to rich curriculum resources, students with special education needs, and children who simply learn differently.

South Carolina Virtual Charter School, SCPCSD, Grades K-12
To add a needed, innovative, research-based, and effective model of virtual education to the state’s public education system that combines web-based and offline lessons. To utilize technology to provide a new and individualized South Carolina Academic Standards-based education for students across the state.

West End Academy, Greenville, Grades K5-5
To provide a quality educational experience that will develop and enhance the intellectual and artistic abilities of its students in an inquisitive, child-centered environment. To offer a curriculum that is inquiry-based, using project-based learning that integrates academic and artistic competencies for real-world applications.

(Image provided by Spartanburg County Schools.)

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