COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Fifteen South Carolina schools were added to a program for schools that face the possibility of state takeover due to their lack of academic progress.
The state Board of Education added 15 schools Thursday to the Palmetto Priority program, and released 20 after they showed improvement.
Former Superintendent Jim Rex created the initiative in 2007 for schools that repeatedly miss student learning goals under the state's education accountability law. That law gives state takeover as an option for schools that consistently receive "at-risk" state report card ratings.
The program includes extra assistance from the state and collaboration with colleges.
The 15 added schools are in 10 counties:
Allendale County | Allendale Elementary School |
Fairfax Elementary School |
Bamberg 2 | Denmark-Olar Middle School |
Charleston County | Edmund A. Burns Elementary School |
Malcolm C. Hursey Elementary School |
Sanders-Clyde Elementary School |
Fairfield County | Fairfield Elementary School |
Florence Three | Main Street Elementary School |
Hampton 2 | Estill Elementary School |
Jasper County | Ridgeland Elementary School |
Lee County | West Lee Elementary School |
Marlboro County | Bennettsville Elementary School |
| Clio Middle School |
Orangeburg Three | Elloree Elementary School (Middle) |
Orangeburg Four | Hunter-Kinard-Tyler School (Elementary and Middle) |
The 20 schools removed from the list are:
District School
Barnwell 19 | Blackville-Hilda High School |
Beaufort County | Whale Branch Elementary School |
Charleston County | R.B. Stall High School |
Clarendon One | Scott’s Branch Middle School |
Colleton | Colleton Middle School |
Dillon Two | J.V. Martin Junior High School |
Fairfield County | Fairfield Middle School |
Florence Three | Lake City Elementary School |
| Ronald E. McNair Middle School |
Greenville County | Lakeview Middle School |
Hampton 2 | Estill High School |
| Estill Middle School |
Jasper County | Hardeeville Middle/High School (Middle) |
Lee County | Lower Lee Elementary School |
Marlboro County | Blenheim Elementary/Middle School |
Richland One | C.A. Johnson High School |
| Eau Claire High School |
| W.G. Sanders Middle School |
Spartanburg Seven | Cleveland Elementary School |
Williamsburg County | Kingstree Senior High School |
About 97 percent of students in the newly identified schools live in poverty. The schools join 17 others in the project.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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