Greenville Technical Charter High Competes With Finest

Posted Thursday, February 24, 2005 - 8:31 pm


By Patricia Newman
STAFF WRITER
pnewman@greenvillenews.com
 

When Gail Cowan's son Dustin graduated from Greenville Technical Charter High School in 2002, he was a part of the first graduating class at the school on the main campus of Greenville Tech.

Cowan liked the school's potential and now her daughter, Dominique is a senior at the Charter school. "Each year it gets better and better," Gail Cowan said.

Now Greenville Tech High School has been named a finalist in the 2005 Carolina First Palmetto's Finest Award competition.

This is the first time a charter school has been named a finalist for the award sponsored by the South Carolina Association of School Administrators and Carolina First Bank, according to Betsy Ford, director of communications for the SCASA.

"This validates the work of our students and teachers," said Fred Crawford, principal of Greenville Tech. "When you look at what's offered here at Greenville Tech, a lot of things could not be replicated in a typical high school setting."Greenville Tech High School opened six years ago offering students the opportunity to take college courses before graduating.

"My daughter has an opportunity to get a two-year degree by the time she graduates from high school," said Debra Oakley, whose daughter Peggy is a freshman at the school.

Oakley said she home-schooled Peggy for two years before she was accepted into Greenville Tech.

Palmetto Elementary and Wren Elementary in Anderson County are also finalists for the award this year.

Last year Riverside Middle was the only Greenville County School named as a finalist.

Two Anderson County schools, Wren Elementary and Palmetto Middle, competed for the award last year along with Clemson Elementary in Pickens County.

Other schools names as finalists for the award this year are Boulder Bluff Elementary in Berkeley Schools; Independence Elementary in York District 3; Keels Elementary in Richland District 2; New Prospect Elementary in Spartanburg District 1; North Augusta Elementary in Spartanburg District 1; Rosewood Elementary in York District 3; Blythewood Middle in Richland District 2; Northside Middle in Lexington District; Brookland-Cayce High in Lexington District 2; Chapin High in Richland District 1; Gaffney High in Cherokee Schools; and Keenan High in Richland District 1.

The award now in its 27th year is presented annually to two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school with exceptional educational programs.

The four winning schools will be announced March 15 during a ceremony at the new Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.