Aiken Scholars Academy is one of the top high schools in the state.
The school received an excellent rating and was ranked third out of 252 high schools in the 2021-2022 South Carolina School Report Card. The academy opened in 2018 and accepts 50 students each year through a rigorous application and screening process. For the 2022-23 school year, it has 183 students, according to its website.
Aiken Scholars Principal Martha Messick said its culture and environment help the students learn how to become better people.
“Learning doesn’t take place if you’re not making mistakes or making errors,” Messick said. She explained that it is a focus area that allows teachers to risk using different strategies, but also helps students “feel comfortable taking risks and making those mistakes knowing that ultimately the end result is what they know and are able to do as a result of their time.”
Hailey Evans, class 2022 president, said students faced different challenges because the school was so brand new.
“From day one the faculty and staff expected nothing but greatness out of us,” Evans said. “Not only in academics but in character. The rigorous work that ASA bestowed upon us was not something that we were used to, but the ASA teachers pushed our limits and unleashed our potential as students. They taught us the importance of studying, group work and learning from our mistakes. Even though the work we were given may have seen extremely difficult and fast-paced, it made us better students in the end.”
Current eighth-grade students interested in attending Aiken Scholars Academy in the fall of 2023 need to apply and complete English 1H, algebra 1H and geometry H before the 2023-24 school year starts, Messick said. The application process is open through Jan. 31. Applicants will take a timed writing assessment and go through an interview process.
An information session for parents and students will be held Jan. 12. For more information, visit acpsd.net and click on the Future Scholars tab.