Transformational Learning Opportunities:

Virtual & Online Schooling:

• South Carolina’s statewide virtual school, VirtualSC, is in the top five largest virtual schools in the country and is available to students grades 7-12 attending public, private, and homeschools. VirtualSC serves as a supplementary online learning program, offering a broad range of courses in core subjects, credit recovery, honors, and college prep. 

• South Carolina also has six multi-district online charter schools. Several district-level virtual learning programs exist in the state. 

• Lexington County School District One, Richland School District 2, Spartanburg School District Seven, and York County Rock Hill School District 03 are all members of Digital Promise’s League of Innovative Schools. Collectively, these schools provide approximately 80,000 students digital learning opportunities in the state. The League of Innovative Schools is a national network of school leaders in 150 districts in 38 states that aim to enhance and scale digital learning opportunities for students across the nation.

Digital Learning Resources:

• Through VirtualSC, the state offers supplementary digital resources for schools, students, and teachers. Teachers can join professional development cohorts to study specific online content, and can earn online teaching endorsements to add to their license. Resources for school include a Virtual Learning Labs, Blended Elementary Keyboarding, and skills recovery courses.

• Curious about your district’s internet access? ConnectK-12 provides state- and district-specific information on access to the recommended bandwidth speeds and monthly internet costs.

Career & Technical and/or Work-based Education:

• South Carolina's Career and Technical Education provides 16 programs that blend academic learning with career and technical instruction. Students as early as 6th grade have the option to explore diverse subjects such as agriculture, architecture and construction, law and public safety, marketing, and more.

Personalized, Competency- and/or Mastery-based Learning:

• In 2017, legislation established requires the state DOE to work with the Education Oversight Committee to design and pilot district accountability models that focus on competency-based education. Legislation passed in early 2024 now allows a district or school seeking to implement competency-based education to be exempted by the State Board of Education from state laws, policies, and regulations that obstruct the adoption of these practices.

• The South Carolina Department of Education repurposed around $1 million to establish the South Carolina Office of Personalized Learning, supporting over 130 schools as they explore or implement personalized, competency-based learning.

• In an effort to redefine what it means for students to be successful, a coalition of leaders in education and business collaborated on creating the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, which was later adopted in 2015 by the SC Board of Education to be used statewide. Students develop skills for the future to ensure they are ready for college and career. A regional district consortium is crafting a pilot program for next-generation accountability to shape state policy.

• South Carolina also has a few non-statutory, flexibility programs in place to encourage personalized learning: 

• The Innovative Approaches and Locally Designed Subject Area Courses initiative allows schools to implement new models of teaching, and high schools to give credit towards locally designed subject area courses. 

• The Proficiency-Based Systems program allows districts to apply for proficiency-based systems through the state DOE. Proficiency-based models are important to PL because they allow students to progress at their own pace, by demonstrating understanding of skill and content, rather than seat time and standardized tests. 

Innovation Schools, Zones, and/or Districts:

• Authorized in 2011, Innovation Schools have flexibility in curriculum, instruction, staffing, and school schedule to create innovative learning environments. There are also Innovation Zones where a group of schools collaborates on innovative practices.