CCSD sees significant increase in enrollment at district Centers for Advanced Studies

Charleston County School District is proud to announce a significant increase in enrollment at the district’s three Centers for Advanced Studies (Cooper River, East Cooper, and West Ashley Centers for Advanced Studies). The Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at each center provide rigorous and relevant academic, technical, and employability training in a wide variety of high-skill, high-demand, and high-wage career clusters. Areas of study include building construction, welding technology, automotive technology, mechatronics, information technology, health sciences, engineering, media technology, and more. CCSD CTE programs of study are aligned with our local talent needs and provide seamless pathways for all students to become “Future Ready” for college, career, military, and citizenship.

According to Dr. Rich Gordon, CCSD’s Executive Director of Career and Technical Education, course enrollments have increased between 45 and 50 percent at both the West Ashley and Cooper River Centers for Advanced Studies, as well as 15 percent at the East Cooper campus.

“The West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies has approximately 700 students enrolled in over 1,100 CTE courses,” Gordon said. “At the Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies, over 500 students are enrolled in approximately 1,150 courses.”

The largest number of students participating in CTE courses is at the East Cooper Center for Advanced Studies, where over 1,800 students from both Wando and Lucy Beckham High Schools are enrolled in over 2,800 courses.