Charter, public and private: Which SC schools have most out-of-zone students?

The 20 high schools in South Carolina with the most students coming in from outside of the official attendance zone are all charter or private schools, according to a review of enrollment data from late 2023.

Christ Church Episcopal High, a private school, along with charters Greenville Tech, GREEN Upstate High, American Leadership Academy and Charleston Charter for Math and Science are all at or above 90% of their students coming from outside of a designated attendance zone — often set as the same boundaries as the closest traditional public high school.

The student data from the South Carolina Department of Education and the S.C. High School League was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by The State. The totals are based on the schools’ 45-day enrollment figures.

While the revelation that charter and private schools heavily pull in out-of-zone students isn’t a surprise, it does shine light on how their enrollment makeup compares with their traditional public school counterparts that, in most cases, must adhere to set geographical boundaries that feed their student population. The SCHSL used that data — along with a new out-of-zone multiplier rule — to calculate total student enrollment and place teams in the state’s athletic classifications.

The result of using an out-of-zone multiplier rule raised many of those charter and private schools up one, two or even three levels for sports competition.

And to be clear: Charter schools are public schools, and not all charters operate with sports as a priority. Of those 20 charters and privates that have the most out-of-zone enrollment, 11 can boast of athletic success in at least one sport. And 10 have won a state championship in at least one sport.

The S.C. High School League boasts 223 total member schools, with 23 of them public charters and four of them private schools.

Eighteen of those 20 privates and charters are at or above 50% of their students coming from another attendance area. Christ Church is No. 1 on the list with 97% coming from outside its assigned zone of Southside High School. When Christ Church entered the SCHSL, its attendance zone was all of Greenville County, but that has since changed.

Christ Church athletic director Molly Miller and head of school David Padilla didn’t use the attendance zone factor as a reason for an appeal to drop from 4A to 3A. The school instead focused on competitive balance.

“We have been successful at A and 2A. Recognize that and we want to be in 3A,” Miller said in the recent meeting.

Landrum High, located northwest of Spartanburg, is the highest traditional public school on the list with 42% students from out of its assigned zone. Landrum officials stated during their appeal that they’ve been a school of choice since the 1950s.

After Landrum, the next traditional public schools on the list are Ridge View (22%), Keenan (22%) and Spring Valley (21%). Ridge View and Spring Valley are in Richland 2, a Midlands district that allows for some level of school choice.

Local charter schools Gray Collegiate Academy and American Leadership Academy reported out-of-zone makeup at 81% and 91%, respectively. Gray is technically assigned the same attendance zone as Brookland-Cayce High, while ALA shares the same zone boundaries as River Bluff.

Of the 223 high schools on the list provided by the S.C. Department of Education, 122 reported less than 5% of their student population as coming from outside of their assigned zone.

Fifteen SC high schools win appeals

The S.C. High School League just wrapped up its appeals process for those wanting to move down from their new classification assignment. Of the 22 schools that appealed, 13 won their cases before the league’s executive committee. Two others won their second appeal to the appellate panel.

The schools that won their appeals were:

• Abbeville (will go from 2A to A)

• American Leadership (will go from 4A to 3A)

• Brashier Middle College (will go from 3A to 2A)

• Bridges Prep (will go from 3A to 2A)

• Charleston Math & Science (will go from 3A to A)

• Christ Church (will go from 4A to 3A)

• Fox Creek (will go from 4A to 3A)

• Greer Middle College (will go from 4A to 3A)

• Greenville Tech (will go from 4A to 2A)

• GREEN Upstate (will go from 3A to A)

• High Point Academy (will go from 3A to 2A)

• Horse Creek Academy (will go from 3A to A)

• Landrum (will go from 3A to 2A)

• Palmetto Scholars (will go from 2A to A)

• York Prep (will go from 4A to 2A).

The seven schools that lost appeals were:

• Bishop England (will stay in 4A)

• Burke (will stay in 2A)

• Gray Collegiate (will stay in 4A)

• James Island (will stay in 5A)

• Seneca (will stay in 4A)

• Southside Christian (will stay in 3A)

• St. Joseph’s (will stay in 3A).