The School District of Greenville County (Greenville County Schools) is helping all students develop world class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the Graduate by providing diverse opportunities for individual growth and development through an emphasis on project based learning and the implementation of innovative courses in the arts, architecture, engineering, industry, business, law, agriculture, health science, etc.  An initiative we have termed Graduation Plus has been developed to encourage every GCS student to achieve a diploma PLUS completion of a vocational/technical certificate and/or college credits.  Graduation Plus seeks to connect students to the 16 career clusters identified in the Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) by enhancing relevance and rigor at all levels.  As a result, the district is expanding its 4K footprint and working with partners to ensure school readiness for all students in Greenville County.  Elementary schools are focusing on building a sound foundation in basic disciplines and increasing students’ exposure to a variety of careers and to the connection between education and career choices.  At the middle level, enhanced academic rigor through an expansion of high school offerings is paired with greater exposure to career and college opportunities and an introduction to the 16 career clusters.  High school students are using Naviance software and the IGP process to build electives around potential college or career paths.  These efforts are resulting in graduates who finish high school with a vocational/technical certificate, an advanced technical certification, completion of freshman level college courses, or in some cases, significant progress toward a specific college degree (presently engineering, architecture, or visual arts).  Career and Technical Education programs are undergoing a transformation and expansion to better support the development of our graduates and to ensure college and career readiness.  Classes that do not require specialized spaces were moved to high school campuses, which increased participation by more than 400% and freed space for the development of more advanced courses at the Career Centers.  In the last two school years, the District launched an Introduction to Manufacturing program at Greer High School and J. Harley Bonds Career Center, and then replicated the program at Berea High School and Enoree Career Center.  Additionally, GCS joined the New Tech network to provide a school within a school at J.L. Mann High Academy and a school-wide program at Carolina High Academy.  Additionally, the Greenville Early College became the District’s first New Tech middle years program during the 2015-16 school year.  Expanded dual credit and AP options across the District provide opportunities for students to prove themselves in college-level courses while still in high school, and helps families save on the cost of college.

Our district is a unified system covering more than 800 square miles with 51 elementary schools, 19 middle schools, 14 high schools, and 25 special schools, programs, and child development centers.  The District has a student-population of more than 76,000, which ranks as the 44h largest in the nation, and a district-wide choice program utilized by 18% of its students.  Choice is driven in part by thriving magnet schools, a Fine Arts Center, The Charles Townes Gifted Center, four International Baccalaureate Diploma Programs, four career and technical education centers, and other schools with specific programmatic or delivery designs.  The District’s focus on learning and increased rigor has resulted in an overall steady increase in the markers used to define success, including SAT, ACT, state testing, performance on nationally-normed tests such as ITBS, and the graduation rate, which is currently at 84.2%. Additionally, the Class of 2015 scored above the national average on the SAT and ACT and earned $118.5 million in scholarship offers.  GCS students also excelled on WorkKeys, with 89.2% earning a National Career Readiness Certificate as a result of testing in the Spring of 2015.  For more information on Greenville County Schools, visit www.greenville.k12.sc.us.