Schools across York and Lancaster Counties are among 350 South Carolina campuses recognized for academic excellence as the state Department of Education announced its 2024-25 Palmetto Gold and Silver Award winners. Four York County school districts placed schools on the list: Clover School District, Fort Mill School District, and Rock Hill Schools, as did Lancaster County School District.
State Superintendent Ellen Weaver praised the honorees statewide. “The Palmetto Gold and Silver awards recognize strong, measurable growth in student achievement and celebrate the hard work of educators and students alike,” Weaver said. “We congratulate these schools on striving for excellence and delivering impressive results for their students.”
The awards program was established by the Education Accountability Act of 1998 and amended in 2008 to include recognition for closing achievement gaps between student groups. For elementary and middle schools, Gold status requires Excellent Academic Achievement paired with Excellent or Good Student Progress, or Good Achievement with Excellent Progress. Silver schools meet combinations such as Good Achievement and Good Progress, or Excellent Achievement with Average Progress. High schools are evaluated on Academic Achievement, Graduation Rate, College and Career Readiness, and Preparing for Success, with Gold requiring Excellent on at least three of the four indicators.
Fort Mill School District led all York County districts with 17 recognized schools, 13 of which earned Gold.
All three of Fort Mill’s traditional high schools earned Gold designations. Fort Mill High School, Nation Ford High School, and Catawba Ridge High School each posted Excellent marks across academic achievement, graduation rate, and college and career readiness.
Fort Mill’s Gold high schools:
- Fort Mill High School
- Nation Ford High School
- Catawba Ridge High School
Six Fort Mill middle schools earned Gold, with Gold Hill Middle School and Forest Creek Middle School each posting Excellent ratings in both achievement and progress.
Fort Mill’s Gold middle schools:
- Fort Mill Middle School
- Gold Hill Middle School
- Springfield Middle School
- Banks Trail Middle School
- Pleasant Knoll Middle School
- Forest Creek Middle School
Four Fort Mill elementary schools earned Gold, led by River Trail Elementary, which posted Excellent ratings across every measured category.
Fort Mill’s Gold elementary schools:
- Gold Hill Elementary School
- Springfield Elementary School
- River Trail Elementary School
- Kings Town Elementary School
Fort Mill’s Silver schools:
- Riverview Elementary School
- Pleasant Knoll Elementary School
- Sugar Creek Elementary School
- Tega Cay Elementary School
Clover School District placed six schools on the recognition list, with four elementary campuses earning Gold and two schools earning Silver.
Clover’s Gold schools:
- Larne Elementary School
- Griggs Road Elementary School
- Crowders Creek Elementary School
- Oakridge Elementary School
Clover’s Silver schools:
- Clover High School
- Oakridge Middle School
Lancaster County School District placed eight schools on the list, earning Gold at two campuses and Silver at six others. Indian Land Elementary School earned Gold with Excellent ratings in both achievement and progress. Discovery School, which serves kindergarten through fifth grade and carries a poverty index of 76.4, also earned Gold with Excellent marks in achievement and progress, a notable result for a higher-poverty campus.
Lancaster County’s Gold schools:
- Indian Land Elementary School
- Discovery School
Lancaster County’s Silver schools:
- Indian Land High School
- Indian Land Intermediate School
- Harrisburg Elementary School
- Van Wyck Elementary School
- Kershaw Elementary School
- McDonald Green Elementary School
Rock Hill Schools placed five campuses on the recognition list, earning Gold at two elementary schools and Silver at three others. Cherry Park Elementary School of Language Immersion earned Gold with Excellent ratings in both achievement and progress. Independence Elementary earned Gold on the strength of Excellent Student Progress.
Rock Hill’s Gold schools:
- Cherry Park Elementary School of Language Immersion
- Independence Elementary School
Rock Hill’s Silver schools:
- India Hook Elementary School
- Ebinport Elementary School
- Oakdale Elementary School
Across the four participating York County districts, a total of 36 campuses earned recognition, with 23 earning Gold and 13 earning Silver. The full list of 2024-25 Palmetto Gold and Silver recipients is available here.
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