In August of 2019, Aiken County Public Schools was named the first Purple Star School District in South Carolina by the South Carolina State Department of Education. Making South Carolina a member of the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission. The Purple Star School program, is a program that makes a significant commitment to welcome and support military families.

SC Department of Education Criteria for Purple Star

• Assign a designated liaison to be a single point of contact for military families and military-connected students who is trained to support issues that face military families, including relocation, deployment, loss and academic training

• Create a website specifically for military families to provide current information about schools and the district

• Adhere to the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission to ensure that students receive transfer credit from previous schools so they will not have to retake classes

• Ensure that transfer students can participate in sports, clubs and other school enrichment programs

• Provide specialized training for school counselors, staff and administrators.

Aiken County Public Schools, located just 16 miles from Fort Eisenhower across the Savannah River in beautiful South Carolina, is the district of choice for military-connected families. For additional information on our highly-rated public schools and to find out more about the benefits of living in South Carolina, please click on the words "Military Friendly."

Student to Student (S2S) is a student-led, faculty-advised program with the mission of taking care of new students. An S2S program shows students their new campus, and introduces them to their new community. It provides fun ways for new students to get to know other students, to build new peer groups, and encourage new students to perform better in school. S2S affects the entire student body by uniting the campus to build a culture of inclusion. The results are improved academic performance and positive peer-to-peer interactions.

Programs are for all three school levels: high school, middle/junior high school, and elementary school.

 S2S team should:

• Provide every new student a tour

• Eat lunch with the new student

• Provide academic resources and encouragement

• Provide activities for the new students to help them meet others

• 100% Acceptance: Respect for EVERY student, no matter their differences

• Actively engage in serving the school and community

Core Values:

1. Leadership

2. Academics

3. Service

4. Finding the Way

5. Relationships

The overarching core value is 100% acceptance.