For the second year in a row, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe has achieved a near-perfect score on the annual South Carolina School Report Cards.

The rating was released this morning (10/15) by the S.C. Department of Education and Education Oversight Committee, and our school once again attained a 98 rating of “Excellent” on the scale. An “Excellent” rating means that “school performance substantially exceeds the criteria to ensure all students meet the Profile of the SC Graduate,” according to SCDOE.

“I am elated,” principal Gregory Thompson said as the report was released. “I think it’s a testimony to our parents, our students, our teachers and all the employees on campus. Our visitors, our donors, our supporters all over the state of South Carolina, and our legislators – it’s a testimony to the unwavering support we’ve had from everyone.”

The School Report Card included “Excellent” ratings in Graduation Rate, College & Career Readiness and High School Student Success. The highlight numbers in the data include a rating of 100 percent graduation rate (Five-Year Success Rate). Also, 91.2 percent of students in the current graduation cohort are career-ready and 94.1 percent are college OR career-ready.

“Earning a 98/100 is certainly exciting news for us,” said Dr. Timothy Keown, our agency president. “All credit goes to our Board of Trustees, amazing students, talented staff, and the leadership of principal Greg Thompson. This rating signals that our organization has had a transformational culture change in the last four years, and the school is sailing in the right direction.”

Attaining a 98 score for two years in row is “extremely difficult to maintain,” Dr. Keown added. “Couple this rating with a zero fault audit, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe is certainly a top-tier public high school, and I couldn’t be more proud of our culture.”

Dr. Keown also credited Governor Henry McMaster and the state’s General Assembly for “believing in our mission.” Explore the full report card at www.screportcards.com