ANDERSON, S.C.— Reason & Republic announced today one of its charter schools, Belton Preparatory Academy, received the Diamond School of Excellence Award from the Charter Institute at Erskine after its students scored in the top 10% of all South Carolina Department of Education Schools in Math and English Language Acquisition (ELA) and topped the charts as the highest-performing Title I school in the state of South Carolina during the 2020-2021 academic year.
“We couldn’t be prouder of our students at Belton Prep,” said James Galyean, CEO of Reason & Republic. “COVID disrupted the lives of every single student across the country, yet in the face of unprecedented adversity, and thanks to the tremendous teachers and leaders at Belton Prep, our students were able to stay laser focused on learning. That commitment has clearly paid off and is a testament to the collaborative and innovative learning environment we’ve built at Belton Prep.”
Schools earn the Diamond School of Excellence Award based on the students’ academic performance on the South Carolina College-and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY). Impressively, Belton Prep students ranked #1 in the state amongst all of their Title I school peers in Math and ELA. Out of 666 overall schools that took the test, Belton Prep students ranked 6th in Math and 11th in ELA.
“This achievement really shines a light on the resiliency and dedication of our students, teachers and parents at Belton Prep,” said Deirdre McCullough, Executive Director of Belton Preparatory Academy. “When we opened in 2018, our goal as a team was to provide an academically rigorous setting where students, no matter their background or their parents’ income could learn, succeed and achieve. And, even in the midst of a pandemic, we’ve done just that.”
Reason & Republic launched Belton Preparatory Academy in 2018 as South Carolina’s first classical public charter school. When it opened, Belton Prep originally served students in Kindergarten through 2nd grade but has expanded each year. It now enrolls students in Kindergarten through 6th grade.
“Belton Preparatory Academy is an example of what can be accomplished when a school commits itself to the goal of academic excellence and refuses to waiver in that commitment even in the face of great challenges,” said Cameron Runyan, CEO and Superintendent of the Charter Institute at Erskine. “The leadership at this school has inculcated a culture where staff, parents, and students hold themselves to the highest standards of excellence.”
Reason & Republic is an Education Management Organization which began launching and operating charter schools in 2017. It currently manages Belton Preparatory Academy, Summit Classical School, and the South Carolina Preparatory Academy—South Carolina’s first online classical public charter school.
