The 2025-26 school year was another great year for HHIHS. Our school provided our students with strong academic instruction and engaging experiences that have long been our tradition since our doors opened in 1983. We will continue to challenge our students as we move into our new state-of-the-art academic building in August of 2026. This building is phase 1 of 5 phases that are part of the $150 million rebuild/remodel of HHIHS. Remodeling of our Art, ROTC and Athletic Wings began this summer. Construction on our new Career and Technology wing will begin this fall. Completion of all projects will be in August of 2028. With the new facilities, HHIHS will have a state-of-the-art school that will prepare our students for a rapidly changing global economy.
As we move forward, HHIHS continues to provide Professional Development to our staff to meet needs of ALL the students who walk through our doors each day. We believe as a staff we are providing our students with the opportunities to develop the World Class Skills and Life and Career Characteristics of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. One way we do this is with our School of Choice Program – the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme. The International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme spans all grade levels in our school by offering two components: the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for ninth and tenth graders, and the Diploma Programme (IBDP) for eleventh and twelfth graders. These programs offered at Hilton Head Island High School encourage our students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills to work both individually and in a collaborative setting to creatively come up with innovative ideas and solutions. The aim of the IB Program is to develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. During the 2025-26 school year, HHIHS had over an 70% IB Diploma conferral rate. Our advanced curriculum offerings are 31 honors, 7 AP, and 24 IB classes. Our HHIHS Class of 2026 included 23 students selected for Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, and 90 students earned Life Scholarships. HHIHS Seniors earned more than 4.5 million dollars in scholarship funding. Additionally, 24 HHIHS Seniors were recognized as Beaufort County School District Senior Scholars. Senior Scholars need to be ranked in the top 10% of the senior class and to have achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or higher (on 4-point scale) in all high school courses taken. We pride ourselves on our students giving back to the community. Our students recorded a total of 20,000 hours of community service for the 2025-26 school year. Fifty-two of our students received special recognition by the HHI Town Mayor for their community service hours.
In the 2025-26 school year, HHIHS instituted the AVID program for 9th graders. We will extend it to 10th graders for the 2026-27 school year and the higher grade levels in the next two years. AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a college and career readiness program designed to help students in the academic middle successfully prepare for and complete a four-year university education or for careers in the workforce or military. It targets highly motivated students who often need extra support to reach their full potential.
The Hilton Head Island High School Community is proud to have continued our comprehensive (multifaceted) tradition of excellence throughout the 2025-2026 school year. We do this in cooperation with parent and community partnerships, especially our School Improvement Council (SIC).
The HHIHS SIC has been vital to the success of HHIHS. It has been recognized for its accomplishments in the past. During the 2022-23 school year, the HHIHS High School Improvement Council (SIC) was the recipient of the Dick and Tunky Riley Award for SIC Excellence for its work during the 2021-22 school year. During the 2024-25 school year, the SIC monitored the building projects and capital improvements to HHIHS that were funded in the district wide bond referendum in 2019. The SIC was also instrumental in helping design the rebuild/remodel of HHIHS that was approved by voters in the school bond referendum in November of 2023. The SIC continued its initiative of organizing and facilitating a Career Day at HHIHS. On Career Day more than 60 volunteers spoke with our students about their respective careers and occupations. All the students at HHIHS participated.
We continue to participate in Beaufort County School District’s Connect2Learn Program in which each student receives an electronic tablet to access information both at school and outside of the school building. The tablets allow for the students to access information, collaborate, and create while learning to safely, ethically, and effectively utilize 21st century tools. It allowed students to continue to receive quality instruction from their teachers while the students were quarantined for infection or close contact. As always, students who struggled continued to find support from many organizations at Hilton Head Island High School. The HHIHS Mu Alpha Theta Society (Math Honor Society) created an online peer tutoring system that accommodates students who work after school or need to be home to take care of younger siblings. Our Multilingual Learner students benefitted from a summer Enrichment program that assisted students in the acquisition of the English language. Early morning tutoring with a math teacher is highly attended. Our Saturday School program allows students to make up seat time hours as well as opportunities to catch up on work. We know our tutoring programs are successful on many levels, particularly with helping students stay focused on academic achievement and challenging themselves to take rigorous course loads like AP and IB courses. The skills the students learn through these rigorous classes will carry them forward in their next levels of collegiate learning. Other skills, such as communication, using information, and using media and technology are also imperative for success beyond high school. Our Career and Technology Department offers courses that are conducive to our local economy such as Travel and Tourism, Hospitality, and Culinary Arts. Our STEM programming features the Project Lead the Way Computer Science/Cybersecurity pathway. We are launching a Health Science program in the 2027-28 school year.
Athletics and extra-curricular activities have always been exceptional at HHIHS, and that tradition continued in 2025-26. HHIHS won team state championships in Girls Golf, and Girls Track/Field. There were individual championships in Boys Wrestling and Boys and Girls Track/Field. We offer 22 varsity sports and 13 junior varsity sports. Many of our Varsity Teams qualified for the state playoffs. Our Football Team made it to the third round of the payoffs. Individual accomplishments included several All State Athletes, multiple Region Players of the Year, and over 50 All Region athletes. Over 20 student athletes signed to participate in college athletics. Our Navy JROTC competed in multiple district, state and national competitions. Our Model UN team excelled at the Georgia Southern University Model UN Conference. Our arts programs continue to grow and shine. Our four-old Dance program is now the largest arts program in our school. Our visual and performing arts programs are one of the strongest in the state of South Carolina and our art students continue to earn county, state and national awards.
Hilton Head Island High School Community is proud our accomplishments in the 2025-26 school year and together we will continue to make the “Seahawk Nest” an exceptional place to be.
Go Seahawks!!!!
Steve Schidrich – Principal of HHIHS
Jennifer Walter - School Improvement Council Chair
