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CHESTER COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Chester
County School District has a total of 6,700 students and serves
the county as well as the cities of Chester, Richburg and Great Falls.
The district operates five elementary and five secondary schools
with an ethnic makeup of 51.8% white, 47.6% African-American, and
0.6% of other ethnic origins. There are a total of 480 teachers in
the district with an average teacher salary of $34,068 - above the
state average of $33,697. 43.2% of district teachers have a master's
degree, 18.2% have an advanced master's degree, 19.8% have a bachelor's
degree, 17.4% have an advanced B.A. degree, and 1.4% holds doctorate
level degrees. The student-teacher ratio for the district is 15:1.
SOUTH CAROLINA'S FIRST STEPS PROGRAM
Designed to ensure South Carolina children will arrive at first grade healthy and ready to succeed, Governor Jim Hodges signed into law last year the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness Program. Specifically, the goals of First Steps are as follows:
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provide parents with access to the support they might seek and want to strengthen their families and to promote the optimal development of their preschool children;
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increase comprehensive services so children have reduced risk for major physical, developmental, and learning problems;
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promote high quality preschool programs that provide a healthy environment that will promote normal growth and development;
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provide services so all children receive the protection, nutrition, and health care needed to thrive in the early years of life so they arrive at school ready to learn; and
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mobilize communities to focus efforts on providing enhanced services to support families and their young children so as to enable every child to reach school healthy and ready to learn.
The new law provides $20 million for fiscal year 1999-2000 in state funds for county partnerships to collaboratively plan and implement programs that will help children arrive at first grade ready to succeed. Through First Steps, county partnerships will conduct needs/resource assessments and then develop strategic plans to address the identified needs of young children and their families. Focus areas for county partnerships include lifelong learning, healthcare, quality childcare, and transportation.
As an alternative to public education, there are several private schools within the Chester County area with a variety of programs for kindergarten through grade 12. There are over 18,000 students in more than 60 private schools in Chester County and neibhboring York and Lancaster counties of South Carolina and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (Charlotte). SAT scores for each private school is not available. However, the following table illustrates the average SAT score for all public and private schools in South Carolina:
| Type of High School | Tested | SAT Composite |
| Public | 19,796 | 953 |
| Religiously Affiliated | 1,063 | 1030 |
| Independent | 1,106 | 999 |
SUCCESS BY 6 OF CHESTER COUNTY
This program is a community-wide children's initiative that brings together resources from a partnership of private businesses, education, health and human service organizations and government, and the faith community. The organizations have banded together to ensure that all children in Chester County enter school prepared to succeed. For more information call 803-385-6543.
The Chester County Adult Education Program began classes in their new site adjacent to the Chester County YMCA in January of 2000. Adult education opportunities are available Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m. - 9 p.m., and on Friday from 8 a.m. - Noon. Classes are also taught regularly from area schools. For more information call 803-385-6122. You can also access the Adult Education web site at http://www.chester.k12.sc.us/adulted/.
The Chester County area boasts outstanding two-year and four-year educational institutions including Winthrop University and, York Technical College in nearby Rock Hill (20 minutes), the University of South Carolina-Lancaster.(20 minutes), the University of South Carolina's main campus in Columbia (45 minutes) and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte (45 minutes).
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA - LANCASTER
One
of the five regional campuses of the University of South Carolina,
the University of South Carolina Lancaster has grown since its inception
in 1959 from a community dream into a vital public coeducational institution
of higher learning. USC Lancaster is today a comprehensive learning
center, offering high-quality University programs and services to approximately
1,200 full- and part-time students from a service area of six counties
(Lancaster, Chester, Chesterfield, Kershaw, Fairfield, and York). The
Lancaster campus grants associate degrees in the arts, sciences, business,
criminal justice, and technical nursing. USC Lancaster's faculty also
offers limited upper-division course work creditable toward baccalaureate
degrees through the University.
Graduate courses are available through the Graduate Regional Studies Office under the auspices of the USC Columbia Graduate School. Opportunity for area residents to pursue personal enrichment is also provided through regular programs and services and additional public service activities. USC Lancaster admits all students who show promise of academic success. Most of USC Lancaster's students are first-generation college students from rural areas, small towns, and cities across the central Piedmont area of the Carolinas. Through a broad commitment to equity, an extensive scholarship and financial aid program, and a variety of weekday and evening course offerings, USC Lancaster seeks to make education accessible, affordable, and convenient to the residents of this region. With the considerable resources of the University, the many advantages of a small college setting, and the efforts of a talented faculty, staff, and administration dedicated to scholarship and teaching excellence, USC Lancaster strives to create a supportive educational climate that respects cultural and intellectual diversification, encourages innovation and adaptation, and responds affirmatively to the needs of its students. Students at USC Lancaster are helped to achieve the fundamental skills, knowledge, and capacity for critical thought necessary to pursue further learning, to succeed in their chosen career fields, and to assume the responsibilities of informed and enlightened citizenship in their communities and in the wider society.
Public service in the broadest sense is another important purpose of USC Lancaster. Through regular course offerings, continuing education programs, summer enrichment programs, and cultural events, USC Lancaster helps area residents obtain personal development, professional growth, and cultural enrichment. Through health fitness and recreation programs, USC Lancaster helps residents develop an appreciation of the interrelationship of physical health and overall personal wellness. Through its Child Development Center, USC Lancaster helps economically disadvantaged preschool children attain the physical, social, and intellectual development necessary for later success in school. For USC Lancaster to meet the growing academic, professional, and personal aspirations of the residents of its area, it will continue to develop and expand its programs and services and provide access to the resources of the wider University of South Carolina.
USC Lancaster Campus' web page address is http://www.sc.edu/lancaster/
Winthrop
University has been an educational leader in South Carolina for over
a century. In 1886, David Bancroft Johnson, a dedicated and gifted
superintendent of schools, successfully petitioned Boston philanthropist
Robert C. Winthrop for $1,500. That seed money helped give form to
Johnson's vision of a school whose mission would be the education of
women as teachers. As the "Winthrop Training School," Johnson's
fledgling institution opened its doors to 21 students in Columbia,
using a borrowed one-room building. Because of its important role,
Winthrop soon received state assistance and moved to its permanent
Rock Hill home in 1895.
Over time, Winthrop became one of the premier women's colleges in the region and expanded its mission to become a multi-purpose institution offering degrees in a growing variety of disciplines. The College remained in the forefront of educational innovation and reached another important milestone by becoming coeducational in 1974. Today, Winthrop boasts a student body of more than 5,000 students, both undergraduate and graduate. Winthrop assumed University designation in 1992 and has achieved national recognition in pursuit of its goal to be one of the finest comprehensive universities in the country.
Institutional Focus
Winthrop embodies a number of characteristics which make it distinctive: a culturally diverse, academically able student body; a challenging and comprehensive curriculum of the arts, sciences and professions; a residential educational experience emphasizing personal identity and close relationships; and a highly qualified faculty.
Academic Programs
A strong liberal arts core provides the foundation for the undergraduate and graduate degree programs Winthrop offers. Winthrop University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) to award bachelor's, master's and specialist's degrees. Additional national accreditation of individual programs assure Winthrop students of a top-notch curriculum, taught by qualified faculty, using the best available resources.
Faculty
Dedication to teaching is the foremost faculty responsibility, yet Winthrop faculty are also active scholars. Many have achieved personal distinction with professional organizations and in their areas of academic specialization. Winthrop's distinguished faculty teaches all classes, and class size is typically small, fostering close personal contact between student and teacher.
Student Life
Some of the most significant educational experiences at Winthrop occur outside the classroom. The University offers a variety of opportunities to help students develop the interpersonal skills they need to succeed. Eight-campus residence halls offer a supportive environment where students learn to live, learn and have fun together. The award-winning Dinkins Student Union programming board brings a variety of enlightening as well as entertaining events to campus each year. Recreational sports and a broad variety of clubs and organizations provide opportunities to hone leadership skills and build confidence.
Campus
Winthrop's campus provides an ideal collegiate setting. A large sports and recreational area surrounding nearby Winthrop Lake complement the rich architectural blend of buildings, some of which are included in the National Register of Historic Places. Extensive renovations to campus buildings have provided students some of the best available classroom facilities, performance space, studios and learning labs. Design work has begun for a new, multimillion-dollar mathematics and science complex.
Winthrop's recreational area consists of a modern 6,100-seat sports coliseum, a 9-hole golf course and numerous athletic fields. Peabody Gym houses an indoor pool and an array of training and recreational facilities. Winthrop University's web page address is http://www.winthrop.edu/.
The following is a list of public and private universities and colleges within a 1-hour drive or less of Chester County:
| UNIVERSITIES | PRIVATE LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES |
| Gardner-Webb, Boiling Springs, NC | Barber-Scotia College, Concord, N.C. |
| Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte | Belmont Abbey College, Belmont, N.C. |
| University of North Carolina-Charlotte | Davidson College, Davidson, N.C. |
| University of South Carolina - Columbia | King's College, Charlotte |
| Wake Forest University (Charlotte Campus) | Pfeiffer University, Charlotte |
| Winthrop University, Rock Hill, S.C. | Queens College, Charlotte |
| Wingate University, Wingate, N.C. |
TECHNICAL SCHOOLS
http://www.sctechsystem.com/
South Carolina Technical Colleges South Carolina Technical Colleges System (TECH) - South Carolina has an extensive network of 16 technical colleges, many with branch campuses, that support technical training. And, since all South Carolina residents live or work within 30 minutes of one of these campuses, training is convenient and easily accessible.
The mission of the technical colleges is to support economic development. As a result, each college is focused on serving local business and industry needs, and this in turn is reflected in a constantly updated curriculum. Companies can use the TECH system to train employees, offer continuing education, hire entry-level workers who have completed degree-related programs, and keep skills up to date with the latest business and management technology. Residents of Chester County are within a 15-20 minute drive to York Technical College in nearby Rock Hill.
York Technical College is a public community-based college offering comprehensive technical and college-transfer programs, developmental studies, continuing education courses, and student development services. Located in Rock Hill, about 25 miles from Lancaster, York Technical College's programs lead to associate degrees, diplomas, and certificates. York Technical College's web page address is http://www.yorktech.com
York Technical College Chester Office
York Technical College, located in Rock Hill, now offers assistance to current and prospective students in its new Chester County satellite office. With long-range goals of building a true satellite campus in Chester, York Technical College has set aside $2 million for construction of the new campus. Currently, an admissions official from York Tech's main campus travels to the Chester County office each week to administer admissions testing and answer questions from Chester County residents. For more information, call 803-385-5884.
THE CENTER
FOR ACCELERATED TECHNOLOGY TRAINING (CATT)
http://www.scteched.tec.sc.us/centertech.htm
The Center for Accelerated Technology Training is a program of the South Carolina Technical College System designed to provide tailor-made training to new and expanding industries in South Carolina. In most instances, new or expanding industry in South Carolina are offered customized job training programs free of charge.
The college system was founded on the premise that the state would be better served by providing a way to train its citizens and employ them in South Carolina with jobs that the state helped to create. When the concept of technical education was being proposed, many of South Carolina's young people were leaving the state to pursue higher paying jobs in other geographic regions. There was a profound need to be more proactive in recruiting business and industry into the state, in training citizens for the jobs that those industries would create and in maintaining a commitment to that training should businesses want to expand and grow within our state.
The Center for Accelerated Technology Training program is the result of legislation proposed and passed in 1961 with the help of U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings (then Governor of the Palmetto State) and the West Committee. The Center for Accelerated Technology Training keeps as its main purpose to offer trained employees to a company when the doors are first opened for operation. Since 1961, 198,026 people have been trained for new jobs in 1,596 companies.
The Technical College System is currently involved with over 169 companies designing and/or implementing specific training programs -- 57 percent are new companies and 43 percent are existing companies that are expanding their business. In the last year, more than 8,500 people went through training at the Center for Accelerated Technology Training.
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