2022-23 report card data reveals that Aiken County school's are making performance progress

ERIN WEEKS, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Nov. 1—South Carolina's State Department of Education has released its 2022-23 School Report Card summary, and Aiken County schools showed progress.

Dr. Amy Edwards, the Aiken County Public School District's Chief Instruction Officer, spoke about the academic progress during a recent board of education meeting.

She said Aiken County schools "rate right up there with being some of the best."

This year, six Aiken schools were given a Report Card Proficiency Rating of "Excellent" overall. These schools were Belvedere Elementary, Gloverville Elementary, Oakwood-Windsor Elementary, New Ellenton STEAM Middle Magnet, Paul Knox Middle School and Aiken Scholars Academy.

Notably, Belvedere Elementary moved up three proficiency rankings in one year, coming to "Excellent" from a ranking of "Below Average."

Belvedere Principal Allyson Long said she cried when she saw her school had received an excellent score.

"I just couldn't believe it had actually happened that we had made that," she said. "Everyone's hard work had paid off."

Belvedere managed to grow in ranking while also scoring highly in the school climate category. "Knowing that we accomplished that much growth while keeping the school climate so positive, I think it's huge," she said.

Nathan Lobaugh, principal of Gloverville Elementary, said involvement by community, staff and teachers was instrumental in helping the school move up by two rankings.

"It goes a long way, and I think all of those things put together helps that success," he said. "It helps the students see that not only the teachers care, the community cares and their parents care."

Warrenville Elementary principal Charlene Heard, also spoke about her pride for the "the unwavering commitment of the faculty, staff, parents and community members," who helped make their ranking shift possible.

"It takes a village," she said. "And this would not have happened without our village."

There has been an over 36 percent increase over the previous year in the number of top-rated schools, ranked as "Good" or "Excellent" in Aiken County. Thirty-five percent of the county's schools have advanced at least one proficiency rating.

Ninety percent of schools in the district received a Report Card Proficiency Rating of "Good," "Excellent" or "Average" overall. Only four of the district's 40 schools were rated "Below Average," and no schools in the district received an "Unsatisfactory" rating.

"That is a great starting point. If this is our baseline data, we are in good shape moving forward," Edwards said.

Fifty-nine percent of Aiken County's multilingual learners are meeting language growth goals, compared to the state's average of 53 percent. "Aiken County does an outstanding job with this," Edwards said. "This is something we're really proud of. We really shine in this respect."

Likewise, the county's graduation rate sits at 89% percent compared to the statewide average of 84 percent.