Achieving high levels of academic performance are always a great reason for schools to celebrate.
A handful of Berkeley County School District administrators recently received special tokens from the South Carolina Department of Education: banners that signify academic achievement and student progress for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
The Palmetto Gold and Silver awards program was established by the Education Accountability Act in 1998. The awards recognize schools for attaining high levels of performance, high rates of growth and making efforts to close achievement gaps.
Daniel Island (Elementary) School and Philip Simmons Elementary received the Palmetto Gold Award for the 2021-2022 school year. Meanwhile, Marrington Elementary, Marrington Middle School of the Arts, Howe Hall AIMS, Daniel Island (Middle) School, Brekeley Middle College and Philip Simmons High are all recipients of the Palmetto Silver Award for the same year.
Daniel Island School struck gold again in 2022-2023 at the middle school level. Meanwhile, its elementary school, along with Philip Simmons Elementary, won the Palmetto Silver for that year as well.
BCSD Superintendent Dr. Anthony Dixon said this is a monumental achievement for schools.
“The Palmetto Silver and Gold Award winners are schools who have set up and successfully executed high-achieving goals for their students,” he said. “This is a major recognition that reflects the hard work of BCSD educators and administrators, as well as the hard work of our students.”
For elementary and middle schools, the criteria focus on two indicators of the school report cards: academic achievement and student progress. Schools must receive a certain combination of Excellent, Good or Average ratings to receive either Gold or Silver.
The accountability system does not measure student growth or academic progress at the high school level. Therefore, to reward schools for general performance, the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards Program focuses academic achievement, preparing for success, graduation rates and college/career readiness.
Banners celebrating the recognitions from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years were bestowed to the schools’ principals during BCSD’s Summer Leadership workshops, held June 10 and 12. Since the award is tied to report card ratings, the 2023-2024 Palmetto Gold and Silver recipients will not be announced until mid-February of next year.
As the district’s most recent Palmetto Gold recipients, Philip Simmons Elementary and Daniel Island School principals Mike Huff and Dr. Laura Blanchard expressed their excitement for their schools’ accomplishments in recent years.
“Even though we’re just now receiving these banners, it doesn’t take away from the impact that both current and former PSE teachers had on their students those years,” Huff said. “A huge congratulations are also in order for the rising fifth, sixth and seventh grade students who took the state tests at PSE these years.”
Blanchard, who just wrapped up her first year leading Daniel Island School, said her school has a long-standing history of excellence that continued under the leadership of former its former principal, Nancy Leigh.
“I look forward to building on the established foundation with the staff, students, and community in continuing the tradition and in soaring to new heights,” she said.