LANCASTER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Our vision is "putting children first." We believe in the consistent improvement of student achievement by measuring and acting on data. Our district helps all students develop the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. An important focus in our work to help students meet this profile is making sure every child can read. We also focus on helping our teachers have professional conversations about student work, conversations that we know are important for effective, consistent instruction. Another important part of our work to help students achieve this profile is making sure our teachers have standards-based curriculum documents for a curriculum that supports national and state achievement standards. We continue to use our research-based instructional strategies to teach a variety of learning styles. We use a balanced literacy approach across the district and stress how important manipulatives and an understanding of the development of math concepts are for math instruction. We provide extra help for students who need more time to master standards with our Response to Intervention (RtI) process, emphasize reading and writing across the curriculum, and provide services for students whose primary language is not English. Our teachers, students, and parents use NWEA Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) testing results to determining the skills students have mastered and the skills they need to improve, and we assess student progress through standardized testing. Technology plays an important role in supporting our instruction, and our websites and Blackboard Connect calling system helps us keep parents informed about everything from report card dates to extracurricular activities to school closings. We have also had a significant increase in general satisfaction with the district and individual schools among students, teachers, and parents. The district's ongoing improvements are facilitated by a strong, unified Board of Trustees, a knowledgeable and committed staff, and a district-wide emphasis on serving its students and parents. We strongly believe every child develops the world-class skills and life and career characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate when our parents, students, educators, and community work together.
Our Demographics
- Superintendent: Jonathan Phipps
- Began in district: 1995
- Years position: 2017
- In education: 1995
- Grades served: PreK – Adult
- Enrollment: 13,216
- Economic status: 52% free & reduced lunch Diversity: 79% White, 36% African-American, 9% Hispanic, 1.3% Asian, 4.5% Other
- Number of teachers: 1021 Classified: 249 Administrators: 43 Counselors: 25 Media specialists: 20 Number of directors: 13 District office staff: 54 Computer Technicians: 5 Maintenance Staff: 23
Our District Strengths
• Strong, unified Board of Trustees that always puts children first
• Knowledgeable and committed staff at the district and school levels who focus on what is best for our children
• Consistently improving student achievement, as measured by a variety of indicators
• Commitment to a five-year planning process that addresses the district’s vision and goals (including academics, student support, parent/community involvement, learning climate/environment, professional development, staffing, financial resources, technology, furniture and facilities/maintenance)
• A customer service focus
• Overall general satisfaction of teachers, parents, and students with the school district
• Strong support from business and community partners
• History of success in securing grant funding