Richland One is helping all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. The numbers tell just part of the Richland One story. Since 2010, our graduation rate has increased by 13.9%. From 2009-2013, the number of students dropping out of school decreased by 50%. Our Advanced Placement (AP) exam passage rate has increased by 8% since 2010. In 2016-2017, 350 students completed career and technology education (CATE) programs in an area of study with career-ready skills; 194 of them earned certifications. Continuous improvement is what we want to see and we are seeing it throughout the district in many areas. The story of Richland One is really about the people behind the numbers who help make our district strong, including Robert Harris of Hand Middle School, our 2017-2018 Teacher of the Year, a proud Richland One graduate who is giving back to the district that educated him.

We have many Points of Pride in Richland One, including W.J. Keenan and Lower Richland high schools being among the first schools in the nation to have earned STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) certification from AdvancED. Our schools, students and staff added to their list of achievements during the 2016-2017 school year. Richland One teams and individual student-athletes won 17 state championships in five sports. The Class of 2017 earned more than $83 million in scholarships and other financial aid, setting a new district record. Seven Richland One students were named National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, a distinction earned by less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors. A.C. Flora and Dreher high schools were named two of America’s Most Challenging High Schools by The Washington Post. Dreher also received a silver medal in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 ranking of the best high schools in America. Crayton Middle School was named a National School to Watch by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform. Seven Richland One schools were named 2017 National Healthy Schools award winners, recognizing them as being among the healthiest schools in the nation. A fifth-grade team from Lewis Greenview Elementary School qualified for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, competed against 67 other teams from around the world and won third place in their category.

Working in collaboration with our parents and community partners to provide our 24,000 students with a world-class education, we are Richland One Strong!

Craig Witherspoon, Ed.D.

Richland One Superintendent