Join us Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 3–8 PM at Shealy’s Bar-B-Que in Batesburg-Leesville (340 E Columbia Ave).
A portion of sales will benefit the team—come hungry and show your Trojan pride!
REGULAR OPERATIONS TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3
ACPSD will return to regular operations tomorrow, Tuesday, February 3, following this weekend’s historic snow event. With temperatures below freezing overnight, please use caution in travelling as some shaded areas may still be partly frozen. We have appreciated the patience and flexibility of our school community and look forward to welcoming everyone back in person tomorrow.
E-LEARNING DAY /REMOTE WORKDAY FEBRUARY 2, 2026
Following this weekend’s winter storm and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of students, families, teachers and staff, tomorrow, Monday, February 2, will be an e-learning day for students. All teachers and staff will be on a remote work day as well.
Student e-learning will be available online, and our teachers are available for support. Should your student have any questions, difficulty, or need assistance with their e-learning assignments, please reach out.
Continued cold temperatures refreezing the snow that accumulated this weekend may impact our district’s operations for Tuesday as well. A decision regarding Tuesday will be announced no later than 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon and will be made with the safety of all students, families, and employees at heart.
As always, we are grateful for the flexibility of our school community. Please be safe, enjoy the snow, and stay warm.
The signing serves as a symbolic commitment to effective governance, transparency, and ethical leadership. The poster will remain on display in the boardroom throughout the year as a visible reminder of these shared principles.
The South Carolina Junior Scholars Program was initially developed by the South Carolina Department of Education in 1985 in support of the statewide effort to improve education and provide for the needs of students with exceptional academic talent. Students that qualify for this achievement receive an Award of Merit certificate. Students had to score 550 or higher on Evidence-Based Reading and Writing subtests of PSAT/NMSQT, and 530 or higher on the Math subtest of the PSAT/NMSQT.
Midland Valley High School Color Guard opened up the ceremony along with Kristanna Mitchell, student at Langley-Bath-Clearwater Middle School, who sang our National Anthem. Dr. Phyllis Gamble, Assistant Superintendent of Middle Schools, introduced the occasion noting the significance of the achievement. The musical opening continued with a performance by Paul Knox’s Orchestra which preceded the recognitions of students who were surrounded by family and school leaders. Students received a certificate along with a coin recognizing them for their dedication, perseverance, and merit in the classroom. Dr. Corey Murphy closed the ceremony commemorating the students' hard work and excellence.
We are incredibly proud of these students and grateful to everyone who helped make this celebration possible.
#ACPSDCelebrates #JuniorScholars #AikenCountyPublicSchools
January 27, 2026: Regular Operations
Aiken County Public Schools will return to a regular schedule tomorrow, Tuesday, January 27, 2026, with no change to arrival times.
Thank you for your flexibility this morning as we operated on a two-hour delay due to the weekend’s winter storm.
Please anticipate continued cool temperatures throughout the week. District leaders will continue monitoring weather conditions alongside local Emergency Management officials, including the potential for a weather system this weekend, and will communicate any updates if changes to operations become necessary.
Due to the winter storm and out of an abundance of caution, all Aiken County public schools and offices will begin the day tomorrow, Monday, January 26, 2026, on a two-hour delayed start. While some areas of Aiken County experienced greater impacts from this storm than others, district leaders continue to consider conditions across the entire county. Temperatures are expected to rise today, which should improve conditions; however, some roadways—particularly bridges and secondary roads—may remain slick during the morning commute.
Important Details for Tomorrow:
• Students and Staff: The two-hour delayed start applies to all students, teachers, and staff.
• Student Meals: With the delayed start schedule, only lunch will be served in school cafeterias.
• Half-Day & Partial-Day Programs: Students on half-day and partial-day schedules, including Early Learning Special Education students, are encouraged to attend school if possible; however, school bus transportation will not be available, as buses will be unable to run mid-day routes.
• No Before-School Activities: No activities will be permitted before school begins on the two-hour delay.
• After-School Activities: After-school activities, including Quest Zone and extracurricular activities such as athletic practices, will continue as scheduled.
• Aiken County Career and Technology Center: Morning session students should report to their home high schools. The afternoon session will continue as planned.
What's Next: ACPSD continues to collaborate closely with local Emergency Management officials and monitor conditions across the county. An update regarding any changes to Tuesday’s schedule will be shared no later than 3:00 p.m. tomorrow.
We look forward to welcoming students and staff to school tomorrow and appreciate our families’ continued patience and flexibility as we prioritize safety.
Confidence in the weekend storm’s possible impact to Aiken County has decreased. However, in an abundance of caution, our District and school’s weekend activities scheduled to extend beyond noon this Saturday, January 24, will be rescheduled.
This includes numerous activities, such as Saturday’s acGATEWAY auditions, as well as the MLK Jr. Community Event previously scheduled for Sunday. Individual schools and programs will share details on these and other cancellations along with rescheduled dates and times.
Our emergency management team will continue to work closely with local officials in monitoring the storm over the coming days. As we prepare for the possibility of e-learning on Monday, students will be sent home from school tomorrow with their laptop and remote assignments.
A decision regarding the safety of operations for next week will be made as soon as possible. We recognize that school closure decisions have a tremendous impact on our community, especially parents and guardians. Please know that the safety of our students, families, teachers and staff is always our highest priority, and that every effort will be made to utilize our five designated e-learning days carefully so as to not extend the school year to meet mandated requirements. An update regarding operations for Monday, January 26, will be shared no later than 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 25.
South Carolina’s End‑of‑Course exams measure true mastery, and these students earned a flawless score. Congratulations Trojans! We are so proud of you!
🏀 8th Grade Recognition Night is Thursday, January 22!
RS‑M Middle School hosts Leavelle McCampbell at 5:30.
We’ll recognize our 8th graders before the girls' game. Come show your Trojan pride!
Congratulations to our First-Year Teachers of the Year Honor Court!
Aleesha Ashe, 4K Teacher at North Augusta Elementary
Disaiah Whack, ELA Teacher at Kennedy Middle
Hayden Beck, 1st Grade Teacher at Belvedere Elementary
Regina Androl, 1st Grade Teacher at East Aiken School of the Arts
Ryann Kramer, Math Teacher at Highland Springs Middle
Stay tuned as we continue to highlight additional STARS Honor Court categories over the coming days and celebrate employees who shine brightly.
#ACPSD #AikenCountyPublicSchools #StarsHonorCourt #ACPSDcelebrates
District Leadership made surprise visits at schools and offices across the District today to celebrate this year’s Stars of Public Education Honor Court. The recognition program and event honoring ACPSD’s brightest stars first began as our annual Teacher of the Year celebration, and has grown to incorporate recognition of our very best New Teachers, Principals, Assistant Principals, Classified Staff, Professionals, and District-Level Administrators. With its origin in mind, we’ll begin our first Stars of Public Education Honor Court announcements with Teacher of the Year.
Congratulations to our Teachers of the Year Honor Court!
Arrington Weston, Social Studies Teacher at Schofield Middle
Jerry Brannon, Science Teacher at RSM Middle/High
Madison Spires, Science Teacher at Silver Bluff High
Megan Maxwell, Speech Pathologist with Special Programs
Sonya Lee, Special Education Teacher at Leavelle McCampbell Middle
#ACPSD #AikenCountyPublicSchools #StarsHonorCourt #ACPSDcelebrates
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Beginning January 21 and running through February 27, 2026, all Multilingual Learners will participate in the WIDA ACCESS assessment. ACCESS is an English language proficiency assessment administered annually to all students identified as Multilingual Learners (MLs) in grades K-12. This test measures a student’s progress in acquiring academic English.
ACCESS is aligned with the WIDA English Language Development Standards and assesses each of the four language domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing.
All test items are written from the model performance indicators of WIDA’s five English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards: Social and Instructional Language and language of Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Test forms are divided into five grade-level clusters: Kindergarten, 1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
WIDA ACCESS is a computer- adaptive test. Based on the student responses to questions, the test will automatically determine the appropriate next items for each individual student. The item difficulty level in the Speaking and Writing sections will be based on their responses to the Listening and Reading sections.
We ask for your support in ensuring that your student is well-rested, has had a nourishing breakfast and arrives to school on-time ready for testing. Students will participate in an online tutorial to familiarize them with the testing format. Students are welcome to practice with the tutorial at home too! Please select the ACCESS Test Demo or Sample Items icons at this link using Google Chrome as your browser: https://wbte.drcedirect.com/WIDA/portals/wida. Further information may be found at https://wida.wisc.edu/assess/access/preparing-students.
Thank you for all you do to support quality education at home. If you have any questions, please contact your child’s ESOL teacher or the school administration.
Sincerely,
Kate Olin, Director
Office of Accountability & Assessment
We are excited to welcome our students, staff, and families back to school as we kick off a new year and a new semester. January is a fresh start and full of opportunities to learn, grow, and achieve together. As we return to our classrooms, we look forward to continued collaboration, renewed focus, and celebrating the success ahead. Let's make this semester a strong one!
#ACPSD #AikenCountyPublicSchools #BackToSchool
📍139 N Oak St
🔗 grouchos.com/givesback #TrojanPride
Please note that there will be no school for students, teachers, and most staff the week of November 24–28.
Additionally, all schools and offices will be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday, November 26 through Friday, November 28. We look forward to welcoming everyone back when we reopen on Monday, December 1.
