2025–2026 Baptist Hill High School Report Card Narrative
Our school is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by creating a learning environment in which students think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate productively, and develop the perseverance, agency, and adaptability needed for success beyond high school.
During the 2025–2026 school year, Baptist Hill High School centered its improvement work around three “Big Rock Strategies” in our 90-Day Plan: Classroom Instruction, Climate and Culture, and One Lunch. This work is grounded in our belief that every adult on campus contributes to the education, growth, and success of our children on The Hill. For that reason, we refer to ourselves as Staffulty—a shared identity reflecting the responsibility of every adult to help students learn, belong, and thrive. Our work focused especially on strengthening critical thinking, communication, and collaboration while expanding opportunities for creativity, leadership, technological literacy, and college and career readiness.
To strengthen critical thinking and problem-solving, Baptist Hill increased its emphasis on standards-aligned instruction and the quality of academic tasks students experience each day. Through Professional Learning Communities and ongoing coaching, teachers examined student work and assessment evidence to determine what students understood, identify misconceptions, and adjust instruction. This strengthened our focus on moving beyond task completion toward classrooms in which students analyze, explain, justify, revise, and persevere through challenging work.
Baptist Hill continued to build student readiness through a comprehensive academic program that includes English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, World Languages, Fine Arts, Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, AVID, Career and Technical Education, and Army JROTC. These opportunities connect rigorous learning to college, careers, leadership, and service. AVID strategies support writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization, and reading while promoting student ownership and the ability to communicate thinking through speaking and writing.
Career and Technical Education remains a significant strength of the Baptist Hill experience. Weighted Student Funding was strategically leveraged to expand CTE offerings and increase access to career-connected learning in areas including Barbering/Master Hair Care, Biomedical Sciences, Health Science, Sports Medicine, Computer and Information Technology, Digital Art and Design, Building Construction, Business Information Management, and related pathways. Through hands-on projects, industry-aligned learning, credential opportunities, competitions, and partnerships, students apply communication, collaboration, creativity, technical knowledge, and problem-solving to authentic situations.
A defining area of progress during 2025–2026 was improvement in our climate and culture and the conditions necessary for meaningful learning. Baptist Hill established clear schoolwide expectations around our PRIDE values: Positive, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Engaged. This framework was shaped by Baptist Hill student leaders who shared their experiences and perspectives with our Administrative Team, helping define the values that should characterize life on The Hill. Through PBIS, Jostens Renaissance, positive recognition, consistent communication, increased adult visibility, relationship-centered practices, and celebrations of student and Staffulty success, we worked to create a school in which students feel known, supported, challenged, and connected.
These efforts produced substantial and measurable improvement. Total discipline referrals decreased from 1,503 in 2024–2025 to 720 in 2025–2026, a 52.1% reduction. Average discipline processing time was reduced to less than one school day, allowing concerns to be addressed promptly and students to return more quickly to productive instructional time. These results reflect stronger conditions for academic engagement, communication, collaboration, and student success.
Student recognition became an important strategy for strengthening agency, belonging, and motivation. Through positive referrals, Renaissance activities, High Five Fridays, Great Behavior recognition, Honor Roll celebrations, spirit activities, and other student-centered events, our school intentionally elevated positive choices and achievement. By May, 415 positive referrals had been issued, reinforcing that excellence, growth, effort, character, and contribution matter. Our 212° “Extra Degree” mindset further encouraged students and Staffulty to understand that sustained effort, discipline, and perseverance can create meaningful change. These efforts contributed to Baptist Hill High School earning the Silver Level School of Distinction award.
Our One Lunch model strengthened equitable access to academic intervention and support during the school day. Students received opportunities for tutoring, content recovery, seat-time recovery, teacher assistance, and targeted support without relying exclusively on transportation-dependent after-school programs. This structure helped students seek assistance, recover learning, communicate with teachers, and take greater ownership of academic progress.
Attendance and engagement were approached as shared responsibilities. Weighted Student Funding was strategically used to hire a full-time Attendance Program Manager, strengthening our capacity to identify barriers, communicate with families, conduct home visits, and reconnect students with school. A dedicated focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 attendance concerns strengthened our ability to respond before challenges became insurmountable. These efforts reflect our belief that students develop self-direction and perseverance when adults combine high expectations with meaningful support.
Baptist Hill also strengthened communication with families and the broader community through regular updates, proactive outreach, recognition of student success, family engagement, and community partnerships. As a school serving the rural and historic communities of Hollywood, Ravenel, Meggett, Edisto, and the surrounding District 23 area, we are committed to helping students see their community as a source of identity, strength, history, and possibility.
Our work continues. Baptist Hill High School remains committed to strengthening academic achievement, increasing college and career readiness, improving outcomes in state-tested courses, supporting multilingual learners, expanding rigorous opportunities, and ensuring that every student graduates on time and prepared for a meaningful next step. By combining high expectations with high support, we are helping Bobcats become critical thinkers, effective communicators, productive collaborators, creative problem-solvers, responsible citizens, and resilient young adults prepared to contribute and compete in a changing world.
Brion Rutherford, Principal
Byron Graham, SIC Chair
