A new educational option is available to families in Lancaster County. On Tuesday, August 12, Cogito Academy welcomed students for the first time to kick off the 2025-2026 school year. The tuition-free public charter school will serve grades 4K-5, adding a grade every year until reaching 4K-8.
Cogito Academy is managed by Tutelage School Solutions and has high-performing “sister schools” across South Carolina. These include Libertas Academy – Boiling Springs (Boiling Springs), Libertas Academy – Colleton (Walterboro), Greenwood Charter Academy (Greenwood), and Cherokee Charter Academy (Gaffney).
The Tutelage family of charter schools all have one common goal: to use classical education to educate the whole child and develop the next generation of American citizens. Cogito Academy emphasizes teacher-led classrooms, using technology only when it truly enhances learning. It prioritizes a high-quality curriculum and instruction, character development, and an emphasis on mental and physical health. Cogito will accomplish this by offering P.E. every day, music or art every day, and maintaining a no-homework policy.
The school is led by Dr. Joshua Bowers, a long-time leader in education who earned his Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina.
“Our first day was just the first page of a long, successful story for Cogito Academy,” said Dr. Bowers. “You can create the concept of a school, hire teachers, and pick a curriculum, but it all comes to life when the students walk in those front doors. The families of Lancaster County and beyond are excited about this new option and are aligned in the school’s mission and vision. When all those things come together, it’s then that you are poised to transform a generation.”
Cogito Academy is authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine.
For more information about Cogito Academy or to enroll your student for the 2025-2026 school year, visit https://www.cogitolancaster.education.
