Summit Classical School was awarded a 2020-2021 Gold School of Excellence in January! This award is given by the Charter Institute of Erskine. This is the organization that authorizes 26 charter schools in South Carolina, including Summit.
The Gold School of Excellence award was given to Summit for scoring in the top 25% of all schools in the South Carolina public school system in English. Not only did Summit score in the top 25% for the state, but also none of the students scored below the 50th percentile. Summit also outperformed both local school districts in mathematics.
“We are just over-the-moon happy about what [our students and teachers] have achieved,” said Mary-Greene Thomasson, school leader at Summit Classical School.
Summit is a public charter school in Clinton, South Carolina. Charter schools are public schools funded by the state board of Education. So students do not pay any tuition to attend. Charter schools have more flexibility. Rather than being part of a large school district, which dictates curriculum and procedures in all schools, charter schools operate autonomously and have more flexibility. This flexibility allows charter schools to try different things and tailor their curriculum and instruction to meet their students’ needs. They have their own “school board” and can make decisions locally.
Summit educates using a different curriculum style than other public schools. This style is called “classical education” – which at this stage focuses on a concrete manner of learning. As they progress to the higher grades, they move from grammar to logic and then rhetoric learning. This three step process of learning is called the trivium.
Christy Junkins, a leader at the Charter Institute at Erskine says, “It’s huge for the school to be able to say to their community, ‘we have some of the best schools in the state, right here in our hometown.’”
Summit opened its doors to students in the fall of 2019.The school now serves K5-5th and will add 6th grade for the 2022-2023 school year.. There is no tuition or district requirement to attend. If you are interested in this school, it’s not too late! Enrollment for incoming students is still open for the 2022-2023 school year. Click here to get started!