Beaufort, South Carolina, Education
Beaufort Real Estate Buyers Embrace Education And Lifelong Learning
Beaufort SC Public Schools
The Beaufort SC County School District is among the fastest-growing school systems in South Carolina. Enrollment increased by 38 percent between 1990 and 2000. In 2007, the district reported a population in excess of 19,000 students attending 28 schools. In a five-year period, Beaufort County residents approved $242 million in bond referenda to build new schools, renovate and expand older schools, and to install technology infrastructure in all Beaufort County schools.
Test scores and other indicators of success were on the rise in the 2006 school year.
•Over 70% of 10th graders passed their High School Exit Exam
•A 2% gain over 2005’s College Board’s Advanced Placement exams
“Choice” is a keyword in the Beaufort County public schools. Beaufort Elementary and Lady’s Island Elementary are open enrollment schools. This means that any student in Beaufort County may attend, not just those who live in a certain prescribed geographic area around the school.
Choice also means that in many schools students and their families can choose unique learning environments. Beaufort Middle, for example, offers an international program and a humanities program, while Lady’s Island Middle offers international study and a performing arts program.
All public high schools in Beaufort County offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma program, as well as course-specific advanced placement subjects. Beaufort High offers a new focus on health sciences and technology, while Battery Creek emphasizes performing arts and arts production. All middle and high school students may opt to participate in the Learning with Laptops program, which puts laptop computers in the hands of students for learning anywhere, anytime. Middle school students may take high school courses for high school credits in areas such as math, English and foreign language.
Of Beaufort County School District’s 28 schools, 13 operate on an alternate, year-round calendar that provides students and staff with shorter summer vacations and regular, three-week breaks spread throughout the school year.
Special Needs
Beaufort children can take advantage of Head Start programs at six different locations. Vocational classes are also available for high school students at the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence.
Private Schools
Beaufort Academy is a K4-12 college preparatory school with an outstanding record of college placement. Students achieve the highest area ranking on their S.A.T. scores and 100 percent continue on to college. The student-to-teacher ratio is 7.5 to one, with an average class size of less than 15.
Athletics are important, with 70 percent of the upper school students participating, and Beaufort Academy teams are the perennial state soccer champions.
Beaufort SC also has an EC Montessori school and several schools with religious affiliations.
Higher Education
These are exciting times for the University of South Carolina Beaufort as it evolves into a full-service, four-year, baccalaureate-degree-granting institution of higher learning. The historic Carteret Street campus stands on the site of the original Beaufort College, one of the oldest and most distinguished colleges in the U.S.
USCB currently offers associate degrees in art and science plus USC baccalaureate degrees in early childhood education, business administration, hotel/restaurant/tourism management, interdisciplinary studies, nursing and a variety of graduate degrees. Classes also are offered on Hilton Head Island and at military sites.
Two schools in the Beaufort SC area cater to the military and working civilians by specializing in weekend and evening classes that count toward degrees. Classes are held at the bases or the Navy Hospital, but enrollment is open to the non-military public.
At Park University, Beaufort residents study for undergraduate, graduate and online degrees. At Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Bachelors and Masters degrees are offered and the university is located in Beaufort.
Technical College of the Lowcountry is a two-year college offering credit and non-credit courses in Business, Health Science, Computer Technology, Paralegal, Cosmetology and Massage Therapy.
Lifelong Learning
The Creative Retirement Center offers free, non-credit, college-level courses led by college professors or peer members with expertise in a subject. A sampling of subjects would include creative writing, South Carolina history, philosophy, architecture, photography, Southern and contemporary literature. CRC members also travel in the U.S. and abroad and take regional field trips.
The CRC, while run by its members, is under the auspices of USCB and is affiliated with the Elderhostel Institute network and TraveLearn.
USCB’s Center for Coastal Ecology has one-day and weekend learning and participation opportunities throughout the year. The center is located on Pritchards Island, a barrier island nature preserve that can only be reached by boat. Classes and workshops include nature photography, the sea turtle conservation program, nature hikes and Lowcountry reptiles.
The Clemson University Extension Service offers a Master Gardeners course and a Master Naturalist course. Both have limited enrollment and long waiting lists. The Master Naturalist course is patterned after the Master Gardeners – 12 weeks of education and field trips and a requirement of 40 hours of your newly acquired knowledge and skills to be donated to a non-profit organization. Clemson agents also have all the answers to questions about agriculture, home economics, horticulture and 4H subjects.
USCB Beaufort Small Business Development Center, part of a consortium of four colleges and universities, offers seminars and courses and one-on-one consultations for small business owners, plus managerial and technical assistance to those who want to expand or start an enterprise. Experts are available for assistance in highly technical areas as well. //
