You Serve Our Country, Let Us Serve You and Your Family

  • Celebrating Military Families at Chukker Creek

Military-Friendly School District

  • In August of 2019, Aiken County Public Schools was named the first Purple Star School District in South Carolina by the South Carolina State Department of Education. Making South Carolina a member of the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission. The Purple Star School program, is a program that makes a significant commitment to welcome and support military families.

    SC Department of Education Criteria for Purple Star

    • Assign a designated liaison to be a single point of contact for military families and military-connected students who is trained to support issues that face military families, including relocation, deployment, loss and academic training
    • Create a website specifically for military families to provide current information about schools and the district
    • Adhere to the Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission to ensure that students receive transfer credit from previous schools so they will not have to retake classes
    • Ensure that transfer students can participate in sports, clubs and other school enrichment programs
    • Provide specialized training for school counselors, staff and administrators.

    Aiken County Public Schools, located just 16 miles from Fort Gordon across the Savannah River in beautiful South Carolina, is the district of choice for military-connected families. For additional information on our highly-rated public schools and to find out more about the benefits of living in South Carolina, please click on the words "Military Friendly."

Month of the Military Child Celebrations

  • Schools across Aiken County celebrate the Month of the Military Child each April to honor the sacrifices of Military-Connected Students. 

    Sondra Thomas, the District’s Military Community Liaison, coordinated events in  honor of Military-Connected Students and families during the month of April, such as “Purple Up” Day and the "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" Walk-a-Thon. 

    On Purple Up Day, all Aiken County Public Schools students and employees are encouraged to wear the color purple, which is a combination of Air Force blue, Army green, Navy blue, Marine red, and Coast Guard blue, in a way to demonstrate our support for military families.

    Being the state’s first Purple Star School District, we know it is important to recognize our Military - Connected Students, especially when they struggle with academic and social challenges attributed to frequent changes, deployment, injury or loss of a parent. 

    Students at Cyril B. Busbee Elementary School embrace Military Community Liaison Sondra Thomas with hugs, thanking her for setting up the "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" Walk-a-Thon. 

    Hugs

     

     

In The News

  • The North Augusta High Student 2 Student Team was named the MCEC's National High School Team of the Year! Dr. Jill Biden made a virtual appearance at the school to share this exciting announcement with students and staff. Click HERE to watch the annoucement and see the students reaction to this great honor!  

    Team of Year

     

  • Mihya Martin, a student at Ridge Spring-Monetta High School was chosen to attend the Frances Hesselbein Student Leadership Program at the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colorado! Watch the video HERE to learn more about this exciting opportunity thorugh the Military Child Education Coalition (MCEC). 

    Martin

Month of the Military Family

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    • Student 2 Student

      What is S2S?

      Student to Student (S2S) is a student-led, faculty-advised program with the mission of taking care of new students. An S2S program shows students their new campus, and introduces them to their new community. It provides fun ways for new students to get to know other students, to build new peer groups, and encourage new students to perform better in school. S2S affects the entire student body by uniting the campus to build a culture of inclusion. The results are improved academic performance and positive peer-to-peer interactions.

      Programs are for all three school levels: high school, middle/junior high school, and elementary school.

       S2S team should:
      • Provide every new student a tour
      • Eat lunch with the new student
      • Provide academic resources and encouragement
      • Provide activities for the new students to help them meet others
      • 100% Acceptance: Respect for EVERY student, no matter their differences
      • Actively engage in serving the school and community
      Core Values:
      1. Leadership
      2. Academics
      3. Service
      4. Finding the Way
      5. Relationships

      The overarching core value is 100% acceptance.
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