GREENVILLE, SC – Heron Virtual Academy of South Carolina (HVASC) earned the Innovation in Charter School Development award at the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina (Alliance) Conference on Thursday, December 5.
This award recognizes a South Carolina “start-up” school that has transformed its written charter into a viable, sustainable, and mission-driven charter school.
To be eligible for this award, schools must exhibit the following:
- A strong partnership between the school’s Board and leader that is evolving and mission-aligned to build a sound organization that is strategic rather than reactive
- An effective allocation of resources that advances the charter’s mission and meets performance measures
- Projected enrollment has been met or is quickly approaching
- Benchmarks that are specifically relevant to the school’s goals have been obtained and consistently adhered to
- A mission-centered culture of ongoing analysis, alignment and action
“We started HVASC because we truly believe that every student can graduate and succeed if they’re given the opportunity,” said Nicki Batson, Executive Director of HVASC. “Our belief in South Carolina’s students and our clear sense of purpose have been at the heart of everything we’ve done, so being recognized for that means a lot to us.”
Heron Virtual Academy of South Carolina is a tuition-free, virtual public charter school that is dedicated to helping high school students via personalized alternative pathways to graduation. The school opened in Fall 2023 as the first and only virtual Alternative Education Campus (AEC) in South Carolina, and has graduated 104 students since then.
It has four defining characteristics – a focus on personalized education through its virtual model, comprehensive career-readiness education offerings, a robust Social Emotional Learning component, and provision for student feedback and suggestions. HVASC is authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine. To learn more, visit their website: https://hvasc.k12.com/.
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The Charter Institute at Erskine is the fastest-growing school district in South Carolina. Serving 26 schools and 28,000 students across the state, the Charter Institute at Erskine is committed to innovative, creative, high-quality methods of education. For more information about the Institute, please visit www.erskinecharters.org.
