NORTH CHARLESTON — Compass Collegiate Academy, a public charter school, moved this academic year from the Charleston peninsula to a new home that will serve as its permanent location.
The school, which was previously housed by the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity on downtown’s Race Street, now operates at the former site of The Gates School, a charter for dyslexic students that closed in 2023.
The 14,100-square-foot property located at 5010 Wetland Crossing houses the growing school, which currently has 175 students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
Elizabeth Simpson, Compass Collegiate’s executive director, called it a state-of-the-art building.
“We’re thrilled,” she said. “This facility is fantastic because it has allowed us to expand. We started three years ago with just 60 scholars, and this year we have over 160, so the demand for what we’re offering is definitely increasing.”
Founded in 2021, Compass Collegiate plans to expand by one grade level annually, following the advancement of its students, until it includes eighth grade, Simpson said. Next year, the school will add fifth grade.
One of the school’s stated goals is to address racial disparities in academic performance among Charleston students. School officials and teachers do this by offering personalized education and emphasizing social and emotional learning, according to the school’s website.
The school received a $100,000 donation from South Carolina Children’s Fund, a nonprofit that invests in and provides technical assistance to charter schools and educational nonprofits. The fund is among the donors which have lent support to The Post and Courier’s Education Lab.
Simpson said one of the things the school will do with the financial gift is ensure students receive daily small group instruction, focusing on reading and math.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)