Lowcountry

New Public Charter High School Celebrates First Grads 

Charleston, SC – January 25, 2021 – As schools across South Carolina and the nation struggle with helping students regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a new public charter high school offering a personalized education to students from Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties is growing quickly and celebrating its first graduates. 

“Many of our students struggled in, or had dropped out of, traditional schools,” said Dr. Jacinta Bryant, Director of Lowcountry Acceleration Academy at 5935 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. “But they have hit the ground running here — and it’s so exciting to see the first group of them achieve their goal of a high school diploma.” 

The strong results at Lowcountry Acceleration Academy come as South Carolina celebrates School Choice Week, highlighting the options available to students who have not found success in traditional schools. Like all public schools, Lowcountry educates local students free of charge. 

Research has shown that student progress suffered when the pandemic closed school buildings and forced an abrupt shift to full- or part-time remote learning in 2020-21. According to the federal Department of Education, those losses were particularly steep for students of color, LGBTQ students and those from economically disadvantaged communities — all groups that Lowcountry Acceleration Academy serves with a personalized approach rather than a one-size-fits-all curriculum. While students do their coursework online, they have intensive one-on-one coaching on the academy campus and via Zoom and phone conferences.

Mariah and Makyia Aiken are twin sisters who lost ground not only due to the pandemic, but also to a tropical storm destroying their family home on John’s Island. Thanks to a curriculum that has them focus on one course at a time, they completed their first course in 3 weeks. “Instead of us having to take it for a full semester, at Acceleration Academy we were able to do it in three weeks,” said Mariah. “Now I can go on to my next class and be one step closer to getting my diploma.” 

Like many students, Montana Ferrell wrestles with math — a hurdle made even higher by the Covid pandemic and the lack of access to in-person support from teachers. “Math has always been a struggle subject for me,” he says. “I just felt hopeless for a while. I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ ” Montana says math content coach Sarah Aquino provided a lifeline, sitting down with him on campus and via Zoom to patiently help him to mastery. “She’s amazing,” says Montana, 18. “She was always there to help me when I had a question.” Fueled by that support and his own hard work, Montana successfully completed the math course and recently became Lowcountry’s Acceleration Academy’s first graduate. 

If you would like to interview students, grads and the faculty led by veteran Charleston educator Dr. Jacinta Bryant, we would be happy to welcome you to campus. Students come to campus on varying schedules, but Wednesday between 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. is often a bustling time. Just let us know what might work for you. Thank you for your consideration. 

For more information: 

Jeffrey Good, Director of Editorial and Media Relations — 603-276-9202; jgood@accelerationacademy.org 

Dr. Jacinta Bryant, Academy Director — 843-696-6290; jbryant@accelerationacademy.org

Federal Transit Administration funds will help connect communities and improve access to transit and affordable housing

NORTH CHARLESTON (Jan. 25, 2022) – The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) has been awarded $860,000 to plan for transit-oriented development (TOD) along its proposed 21.5-mile Lowcountry Rapid Transit (LCRT) line.

The funding from the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration will be applied to a second phase of TOD planning, following an initial award in 2018. Phase 2 focuses on development of a strategic plan for implementing equitable transit oriented development that includes a mix of commercial, residential, office and entertainment centered around or located near transit stations. 

“Transit-oriented development along the LCRT line will enhance community connections to food, jobs, education and healthcare,” said BCDCOG Executive Director Ron Mitchum. “Walkable, mixed-used, vibrant and connected communities are the clear vision of this effort.”

This month, FTA awarded approximately $11 million to 20 projects in 12 states via its Pilot Program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning. The goal is to support comprehensive planning efforts – including land use planning – to improve access to public transportation.

“Transit-oriented development offers easier, more affordable access to jobs, health care, school, shopping, and other daily needs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We’re pleased to award this funding to help more communities develop around transit in a way that reduces pollution, increases economic opportunity, and contributes to affordable housing.”

Comprehensive planning funded through the pilot program must examine ways to improve economic development and ridership, foster multimodal connectivity and accessibility, improve transit access for pedestrian and bicycle traffic, engage the private sector, identify infrastructure needs, and enable mixed-use development near transit stations, per FTA.

In the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester region, funding will fill the gap needed to employ TOD tools developed in Phase 1, including: 

• Equitable Infrastructure and Housing Needs Assessment
• Fiscal Impacts/Benefits Analysis of Equitable TOD Strategies
• eTOD (equitable TOD) Implementation Support – Codes, Ordinances, Affordable Housing Development and Adoption  
• Market Assessment and Community Viz Update
• Public Engagement

The region has a shortfall of 10,000 affordable housing units for those earning less than $35,000. Without intervention, this shortfall is projected to grow to 34,000 by 2040. Cost burdened households paying more than 30% of their income towards housing have grown by 42,000 since 2000, faster than the population rate. There is significant need for affordable housing in the region, and even more in the corridor where 27% of owners and 52% of renters are housing cost burdened. 

LCRT is expected to have a transformational impact. Affordable housing protections and development near transit will provide a safety-net for renters and greater access for the region’s vulnerable populations. 

Rapid growth in the region has elevated a need for regional action. The results of this phase will support planning needs to budget and program multimodal investment in station areas that reduce car trips and emissions while supporting the transit line. 

ABOUT BCDCOG

The BCDCOG is a voluntary association of, by, and for local governments, and was established to assist Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester county leaders in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for sound regional development. BCDCOG’s purpose is to strengthen the individual and collective power of local governments and to help them recognize regional opportunities, eliminate duplication, and make joint decisions. For the latest on BCDCOG, visitBCDCOG.com, like us onFacebook, or follow us on Twitter at@BCDCOG.