Julie Klemz, Harbison West Elementary School’s 2025–2026 Teacher of the Year and founder of the school’s “Casual for a Cause” fundraiser, was inspired by an idea she encountered during a dental appointment last summer. She noticed someone wearing a T-shirt promoting the idea of dressing casually for a meaningful causeContinue Reading
95 Lexington-Richland School District Five students have been named South Carolina Junior Scholars for the 2025-2026 school year. Developed by the South Carolina Department of Education during the 1985-1986 school year, the SC Junior Scholars program is designed to identify eighth grade students with exceptional academic talent based on PSATContinue Reading
Five District Five students have been awarded the South Carolina Teaching Fellowship. The students will receive up to $24,000 in yearly scholarships (up to $6000 a year for four years) to attend a Teaching Fellows Institution in South Carolina. Each Fellow agrees to teach in South Carolina one year forContinue Reading
Spring Hill High senior Mason Blevins signed a contract to work with Blanchard Machinery April 27. He is a senior in the Automotive Training program at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies. He applied for the Power Technician position in the Think Big program at Blanchard Machinery and was hired.Continue Reading
Two more students from School District Five have earned National Merit Scholarships. Vivian Garcia (Chapin High) and Hunter Taylor (Dutch Fork High) were named winners of this year’s National Merit $2,500 Scholarships. National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) finances most of these single-payment National Merit $2500 Scholarships. Corporations and company foundationsContinue Reading
C-SPAN visited Dutch Fork High School May 14 to celebrate and honor seven students for their prize-winning documentaries in C-SPAN’s annual StudentCam competition. C-SPAN and Spectrum representatives joined classmates, teachers, family members, and community leaders to present awards and recognize the students and their teacher, AJ Chambers, who served asContinue Reading
School District Five has announced its new Teacher of the Year and Support Employee of the Year during a May 11 ceremony. Anna Maria Hinson, an English teacher at Spring Hill High School, was named School District Five’s 2026-2027 Teacher of the Year during the district’s Employee Recognition Program. JeannetteContinue Reading
Leaphart Elementary STEAM Magnet School fourth grade teacher Dr. Paul Duggan has been selected as a Spring 2026 recipient of the Coaching Teacher Award of Excellence from the University of South Carolina College of Education. The award recognizes outstanding educators who demonstrate excellence in mentoring and supporting future teachers throughContinue Reading
District Five student Chloe Coleman (Spring Hill High) has been named the Midlands Work-Based Learning (WBL) Student of the Year. The SC Work-Based Learning Student of the Year award recognizes a student who exemplifies sound work-based practices while applying academia to real-life, real-work, and real-world situations in the business/industry environment.Continue Reading
Two students from the Escolares Academy at Harbison West Elementary School Gifted and Talent Development Magnet have achieved an academic milestone, earning perfect raw scores on the Spring 2025 SC READY Assessment. Perry Dawson, a fifth-grade student, and Jeremiah Simpson, a fourth-grade student, are among a very small group ofContinue Reading
District Five Superintendent Dr. Akil E. Ross, Sr. was surprised April 20 at the School District Five School Board meeting with the South Carolina National School Public Relations Association (SC/NSPRA) Administrator of the Year Award. The announcement was made by Toni Chewning, President of SC/NSPRA. This award recognizes a superintendentContinue Reading