South Carolina Department of Education Releases List of Priority Schools
Staff Report From South Carolina CEO
Monday, December 17th, 2018
The South Carolina Department of Education released the first list of Priority Schools as required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Under the ESSA, the South Carolina Department of Education is required to identify schools meeting certain criteria that classifies them as schools in need of additional support and improvement. These designations and the state level support they will receive are explained in the South Carolina School Improvement Designation document.
Priority Schools are identified every three years based on the following criteria:
Lowest 10%: Any school (Title I or Non-Title 1) that based on report card performance falls into the bottom 10% of all schools statewide.
Priority Schools are provided with state support, professional development, and access to the South Carolina School Improvement Framework and evidence-based interventions. Priority schools are eligible to receive state technical assistance funds to implement evidence-based interventions to address performance deficiencies.
The full list of Priority Schools can be found by following this link. Please note that the Priority Schools list does not include those schools previously identified for Comprehensive Support and Improvement.