County's First Charter School Receives Perfect Letter Grade

The South Carolina Department of Education released letter grades for the state’s public schools today based upon student achievement and improvement in school year 2012-2013. Pickens County’s only charter school, the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), is one of 33 schools achieving a perfect score of 100.

The letter grades were a key component of the state’s approved flexibility request from certain provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan approved the request on July 19, 2012.

YLA received its charter from the S.C. Public Charter School District and opened last fall for sixth and seventh grades. The school is operated through a partnership between the Youth Leadership Academy’s nonprofit board, Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute (YLI), headquartered in Pickens; and Kansas-based PITSCO Education.

YLA is among eight public charter schools and 25 traditional schools across the state that received a perfect report card score. Mary Carmichael, executive director of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, said the announcement is significant considering charter schools account for a much smaller percentage of all schools operating in the state.

“It’s accurate to say there is a disproportionate number of extremely high-performing charter schools,” Carmichael said.

YLA Director Patsy Smith said she attributes the school’s success to the hands-on style of learning in every classroom, as well as students meeting the expectation that they work to their full potential.

“When we started to design our charter school model, we saw the partnership between PITSCO and Clemson YLI as the perfect marriage. PITSCO provides a curriculum that pulls together the standards, the independent learning, the teamwork – all of the things we have said are so important — combined with YLI’s expertise and extensive track record of helping students develop 21st-century skills such as communication, problem solving, and cooperative learning,” Smith said.

Smith said YLA uses a “teacher as facilitator” model that shifts the responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student. PITSCO Education’s math and science curriculum modules are the foundation for learning programs that allow students to take charge of their learning.

YLA Board Chair Lori Durham said the small class sizes, individual attention for learners, and overall unique learning atmosphere are some of the features that parents say they desire most.

“Our school offers an educational option that encourages independent thinking and the opportunity to experience hands-on learning,” Durham said. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to learning, but one that allows every child the chance to learn and succeed at their potential.”

YLI Executive Director Jorge Calzadilla said, “The beauty of charter schools is the freedom for teachers and administrators to be more creative with the programs and curriculum they implement. The YLA charter application allows the partnership to replicate the school across the state and we want to serve as a success model for many other communities in coming years.”

YLA’s academic emphasis is STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — a widely promoted learning focus in classrooms nationwide. Smith said the English/language arts, social sciences, arts, music and physical education courses include hands-on, team-based approaches that integrate STEM concepts and keep students engaged.

“We want students to be well-grounded in STEM curriculum,” Smith said. “We want them to understand that there are so many career options in the STEM areas. Students should start now, at the middle school level, discovering what it takes to get into college, and begin thinking about and preparing for their careers.”

YLA has doubled its enrollment for the 2013-2014 school year, adding eighth grade and a second sixth-grade class. This doubles enrollment at the school that, for the second year, has a waiting list of students.

“Last year, parents and students took a leap of faith with us as we opened our school and set our sights high for achievement,” Smith said. “We could not have accomplished such incredible results without the diligence and hard work of our students and teachers, and the overwhelming support of our parents, operating partners and community.”