CCSD announces creation of Elevation Schools to expand support and resources for students
July 15, 2025
Charleston County School District (CCSD) announces the formation of Elevation Schools, a unified cohort of 14 elementary schools that will receive enhanced support and resources beginning in the 2025–2026 school year in an effort to improve student growth and achievement.
“The Elevation Schools initiative is designed to streamline operations, strengthen instructional practices, and provide deeper support to students and educators. Schools in this network will benefit from increased investments in academic interventions, leadership development, coaching cycles, and family engagement–all designed to accelerate student outcomes and close opportunity gaps,” explained Superintendent of Schools Anita Huggins. “The initiative brings together the former Acceleration and Transformation Schools into a strategically aligned network under the leadership of Chief Academic Officer Michelle Simmons.”
Elevation Schools will receive increased funding through CCSD’s Weighted Student Funding (WSF) Formula, which allocates resources based on student need. This approach ensures that schools serving higher concentrations of students facing poverty, language barriers, or other challenges have access to additional dollars to support targeted academic and wraparound services. They will also continue collaboration with the University of Virginia’s Partnership for Leaders in Education (PLE), a multi-year partnership designed to create conditions that foster accelerated growth and leverage strategic thinking and planning to create school-based 90-day plans of action rooted in deep data analysis and professional learning to drive continuous improvement and improved student outcomes.
“These schools serve some of our most resilient students,” said Chief Academic Officer Michelle Simmons. “By aligning our resources and efforts, we can more effectively support school leaders and teachers, and ensure every child has access to the high-quality education they deserve.”
The Elevation Schools will be led by a collaborative leadership team within the Chief Academic Office that includes Jacqueline Haynes, LaShawna Harris, and Quenetta White with the following CCSD schools: A.C. Corcoran Elementary, Chicora Elementary, Hunley Park Elementary, Julian Mitchell Elementary, Ladson Elementary School, Ladson Primary School, Matilda F. Dunston Elementary, North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary, North Charleston Elementary, Pepperhill Elementary, Pinehurst Elementary, Sanders-Clyde Elementary, Stono Park Elementary, and W.B. Goodwin Elementary.
