SC Connections Academy
Columbia · SC · Charter Institute at Erskine · Public charter · K-12 combined
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Ben Lippen School → River Bluff High → Columbia High → Gray Collegiate Academy → Glenforest School → Empowerment and Enrichment Academy → SCDJJ Evaluation and Detention Center → The Palmetto Empowerment and Enrichment Academy →📋 At a glance
- 📚 12 AP courses offered — Elite
- ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
- ✅ Gifted & talented program
- 🔢 2 calculus classes · 2 physics · 5 chemistry
- 🎓 AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally
- 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 69th percentile by test-taker volume
Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.
How SC Connections Academy compares for families
Standout academic depth by national standards.
- ▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 10% nationally with 12 AP courses.
- ▸ LocallySC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
- ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Ben Lippen School, River Bluff High, Columbia High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.
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🎓 Academic rigor
AP + advanced-course offerings
Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth
90th percentile nationally
✅ Gifted/talented program
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).
SAT / ACT participation
CRDC federal data · 2020-2169th percentile by test-taker volume
Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.
Chronic absenteeism
Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.
Counselor capacity
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.
Enrollment trend & projection
Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).
If the recent trend holds…
At its recent rate of -1.1%/year, projecting from 2024's 6,152 students:
≈ 316 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.
An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.
Revenue at risk
At $15,753 per student in district revenue, the 316 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $4,977,948/year in funding at risk.
District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.
Nearby high schools — the local competition
The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.
| School | Type | Miles | HS enrollment | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Lippen School Columbia |
Private | 0.9 | 964 | +671.2% |
| River Bluff High Lexington |
Public | 1.8 | 2,117 | -2.2% |
| Columbia High Columbia |
Public | 1.9 | 681 | -1.4% |
| Gray Collegiate Academy West Columbia |
Public · charter | 2.4 | 629 | +7.0% |
| Glenforest School West Columbia |
Private | 2.6 | 52 | — |
| Empowerment and Enrichment Academy Columbia |
Public | 2.7 | 65 | — |
| SCDJJ Evaluation and Detention Center Columbia |
Public | 2.7 | 366 | +96.8% |
| The Palmetto Empowerment and Enrichment Academy Columbia |
Public | 2.7 | 92 | — |