MISSION STATEMENT: The mission of the Patriot Scholars Academy is to offer highly motivated, intellectually curious students a challenging program within a supportive environment that thoroughly prepares them for college and instills a sense of global awareness.
The Patriot Scholar is: •Achievement-oriented •Eager for new challenges •intellectually curious; a divergent thinker •Able to work independently and collaboratively •Mature and motivated to be successful •Pursues individual interests; has a point of view •Willing to learn and to lead
NEEDS ASSESSMENT YPA opened in 2010 as a k-8 school and added a class each subsequent year; 2017 will be our third graduating class. When we opened in 2010, our charter was approved for ten years, and then it is to be reviewed by the state. In 2015-2016, the school board decided to conduct its own charter review to see what needs that are laid out in the charter have been met and what needs have yet to be met. This was part I of our needs assessment. One of the requirements for any charter school in South Carolina is that the school offers something different from a traditional public school. In reflecting on our first five years, we realized that our school was very similar to a traditional school and that we should consider changing some elements to offer the community something that can't be found elsewhere.
Part II of our needs assessment came after data analysis, when we found that we were losing many of our top middle school students to local public high schools. When students and parents were surveyed about their decision to leave the school, they said the other schools offered a more competitive environment and more rigorous course studies. Based on this information, we have designed a Scholars Academy program within our school so that we can keep high-achieving students matriculating from our program. The Patriot Scholars Academy is being offered to a select group of rising 9th graders who scored a 1000 or better on the PSAT taken in 8th grade, who have scored in the 90th percentile or better on MAPS assessments, and/or have equivalent or similar scores and exceptional teacher recommendations. The first class began in the 2017-2018 school year and will graduate in 2021.