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

School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties celebrated 72 first-year educators who participated in the district’s STARS (Supporting Teacher Advancement, Retention, and Success) induction program during a recognition ceremony held April 27, culminating with the announcement of the district’s Induction Teacher of the Year. The district recognized Kelsey Manning,Continue Reading

District Five will host a virtual Lunch & Learn event with Superintendent Dr. Akil E. Ross, Sr. and his administrative team regarding the district’s tool iBoss, a parent monitoring application that gives parents and guardians real-time information about students’ Chromebook usage. The event will be held virtually from noon toContinue Reading

Welding students at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies (The Center) recently participated in the annual Arclabs Welding Competition at the Arclabs Columbia campus and earned numerous awards. Chloe Coleman (Spring Hill High School) earned first place and a $22,500 scholarship. Boone Pinkstaff (Dutch Fork High School) placed fourth, andContinue Reading

On April 17, South Carolina high school students competed in SC Envirothon, an annual, hands-on environmental science competition. Dutch Fork High School Team A placed third in the Forestry Station and tied for third in the Current Topic Station.Continue Reading