A number of Berkeley County School District administrators are proudly receiving special tokens from the South Carolina Department of Education: banners that signify academic achievement and student progress for the 2024-2025 school year.
Established by the Education Accountability Act in 1998, the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards recognize schools for attaining high levels of performance, high rates of student growth and efforts to close achievement gaps.
Earning the Palmetto Gold Award for 2024-2025:
Bowen’s Corner Elementary
Cane Bay Elementary
Howe Hall AIMS
Philip Simmons High
Earning the Palmetto Silver Award for 2024-2025:
Cainhoy Elementary
College Park Elementary
Daniel Island School
Marrington Middle School of the Arts
Mount Holly Elementary
St. Stephen Elementary
Westview Middle
“Our schools earning Palmetto Silver and Gold Awards is a testament to the relentless dedication of our teachers and administrators to focus on academic growth and closing achievement gaps,” Superintendent Dr. Anthony S. Dixon said. “We are proud of our students for rising to the challenge to meet high-achieving goals, as reflected in our school report cards.”
For elementary and middle schools, the criteria focuses on two indicators: academic achievement and student progress. Schools must receive a certain combination of Excellent, Good or Average ratings to receive either Gold or Silver.
The accountability system does not measure student growth or academic progress at the high school level. Therefore, to reward high schools for general performance, the Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards Program focuses on academic achievement, preparing for success, graduation rates, and college/career readiness.
Banners celebrating the recognitions will be displayed on the school campuses. Since the award is tied to report card ratings, the 2025-2026 recipients will not be announced until next school year.