1. education
2. school

Background on Lower Richland
• 4 years ago Lower Richland High School was state-identified in the “School
Improvement” category which meant:
• We had "persistently low achieving" ratings
• We were performing in the bottom five percent of the state without signs of growth and/or had a
graduation rate below 60 percent
• As a result, in 2011 we were awarded a “School Improvement Grant” (SIG)
through the US Department of Education
• The SIG presented the school four options on how to proceed:
• Turnaround Model: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than half the
teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform,
professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
• Restart Model: Convert a school or close it and reopen it as a charter school or under an education
management organization.
• School Closure: Close the school and send the students to higher achieving schools in the district.
• Transformation Model: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum
reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
Transformation Model
Lower Richland selected the “Transformation Model” and started the
journey with the following actions:
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Hired Principal Kelvin Wymbs
Transformed the curriculum to focus on IB and STEM
Targeted school literacy issued through tailored ELA programs
Prioritized attitude, empowerment, STEM, community
School structure was reorganized into divisions with new leadership and internal
accountability focused on test performance, career pathways, connecting students
to 21st century learning through STEM
EngenuitySC Program Overview
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In June of 2013, EngenuitySC partnered with LR for the remaining year of
the SIG and focused on creative alternatives to educating students,
teachers and parents on the importance of STEM education through
exposure to regional career opportunities available upon graduation
The mission for LR STEM Program is to:
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Educate students, teachers and parents on the importance of STEM education
Expose them to STEM career opportunities available in the local area and
accessible through a four year university track, two year associates track, or by
immediately entering the workforce after graduation
Show students firsthand what success looks like and create a pathway for them to
follow
Five Part Program at LR
1. Student Discovery Days
2. Teacher Discover Days and Immersion programs
3. Parent University Sessions
4. Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship Training
5. Life Cycle Innovation Project
Through these programs we are:
• Leveraging unique industry partnerships
• Demonstrating the incredible opportunities that STEM career fields offer
• Providing hands-on learning opportunities in a nontraditional educational
environment
• Creating new pathways for students who may not have considered STEM as an
option
• Training students across the school and in small groups sessions on the
importance of developing soft skills like financial management and budgeting,
stress and anger management, online reputation development, interpersonal and
public speaking skills, etc.
• Integrating the soft skills training into a six week, entrepreneurship boot camp
where students create their own business plan and compete shark tank style for
seed funding
Sustainable energy and agricultural practices through the Life Cycle Innovation Project one of the
first of it’s kind nationally on a high school campus that cycles from food waste to food production
through:
STEP ONE: A newly installed food digester in the cafeteria to process all
food waste into a organic, compostable material
STEP TWO: A vermiculture program to turn that compostable material
into fertilizer
STEP THREE: A new solar array installed on campus to provide power to
an newly remodeled greenhouse
STEP FOUR: An upfit greenhouse where the renewable energy and
fertilizer can be used to feed and nourish fruit and vegetable plants
Academic Measures
• In December of 2014, Lower Richland High School was the first high school in
Richland School District One and one of the first in the country to be awarded the
AdvancED STEM certification
• We were one of four schools in the District to apply and the only one certified
• Graduation rate improved by 13% in four years to among the highest in the
district
• From 61% in 2009/10 to 74% in 2013/14
• We believe they’ll meet the national average of 77% during the 2014/15
academic year
• Only International Baccalaureate Career Program school in South Carolina
• Improved their “State Accountability Report Card” rating from “below average” to
“average” where they’ve maintained ever since
In five years…
• EOC Exam scores…
• 5% increase in Algebra 1
• 3% increase in English 1
• 14.1% increase in US History
• Number of students taking AP Exams
• jump by 81% with 4.8% increase in students scoring 3 or higher on the exams
• from 163 enrolled students in 2010 to 244 enrolled students in 2014
• ACT scores
• increase by 1.3 points, ranking third out of the seven high schools
• from 16.7 in 2010 to 18.0 in 2014
• SAT scores
• jumped 63 points
• from 1213 in 2010 to 1276 in 2014
• Both black males and black females ranked 3rd in the district for their average scores a
remarkable measurement considering the volume of students they had take the test
Scholarship
• In 2013, Lower Richland High School seniors earned $6.7 million in
scholarships and the 2014 senior class more than doubled that
number to over $18 million putting Lower Richland at the top in the
District for senior scholarship attainment numbers for the first time
ever
Behavioral Measures
• 90% minority at Lower Richland
• 73.5% of the student body is on free and reduced lunch
• Expulsions
• In the last three years from 2011 to 2014, Lower Richland reduced expulsions by over
99% (123 to 1)
• Suspensions
• In the last three years from 2011 to 2014, Lower Richland reduced out of school
suspensions by 19% (724 to 586)
• Attendance
• Since 2012, the average daily attendance has increased by 0.15% from 96.15% to
96.30% in 2013/14 school year
• As of February 3, 2015, Lower Richland is averaging 96.47% daily attendance
Lower Richland High Dream Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/107856797