School District Five has recognized students who earned academic certificates from Midlands Technical College (MTC) through the district’s Dual Enrollment program during the 2025–2026 school year. The students successfully completed an 18-credit-hour sequence of college coursework while still in high school, earning credentials that carry full academic credit and areContinue Reading

Five School District Five students were graduated from Project SEARCH May 19. Project SEARCH is a one-year program where School District Five partners with Prisma Health Baptist Parkridge Hospital and allows students with special needs to gain job skills and solve work based problems as they rotate through different departmentsContinue Reading

Thirteen students in District Five have earned Firefighter I Certificates through the Fire & Rescue course at the Center for Advanced Technical Studies (The Center). The Fire & Rescue class is a year long course. In the first year, students earn the following certifications: FEMA; I-100; I-200; I-700; I-800; FirstContinue Reading

Leaphart Elementary STEAM Magnet School fourth grade teacher Dr. Paul Duggan has been selected as a Spring 2026 recipient of the Coaching Teacher Award of Excellence from the University of South Carolina College of Education. The award recognizes outstanding educators who demonstrate excellence in mentoring and supporting future teachers throughContinue Reading

District Five student Chloe Coleman (Spring Hill High) has been named the Midlands Work-Based Learning (WBL) Student of the Year. The SC Work-Based Learning Student of the Year award recognizes a student who exemplifies sound work-based practices while applying academia to real-life, real-work, and real-world situations in the business/industry environment.Continue Reading

District Five Superintendent Dr. Akil E. Ross, Sr. was surprised April 20 at the School District Five School Board meeting with the South Carolina National School Public Relations Association (SC/NSPRA) Administrator of the Year Award. The announcement was made by Toni Chewning, President of SC/NSPRA. This award recognizes a superintendentContinue Reading

School District Five of Lexington & Richland Counties celebrated 72 first-year educators who participated in the district’s STARS (Supporting Teacher Advancement, Retention, and Success) induction program during a recognition ceremony held April 27, culminating with the announcement of the district’s Induction Teacher of the Year. The district recognized Kelsey Manning,Continue Reading

District Five will host a virtual Lunch & Learn event with Superintendent Dr. Akil E. Ross, Sr. and his administrative team regarding the district’s tool iBoss, a parent monitoring application that gives parents and guardians real-time information about students’ Chromebook usage. The event will be held virtually from noon toContinue Reading

District Five student Jayden Won has earned a National Merit Scholarship. Jayden Won (Dutch Fork High, Boeing Scholarship) was named a winner of this year’s National Merit Corporate-Sponsored Scholarships. These scholarships were financed by about 115 corporations, company foundations, and other business organizations. Also included in this category are awardsContinue Reading

IRMO – Ten Lexington-Richland School District Five schools have been recognized with Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards from the SC Department of Education for academic achievement and student progress on State Report Cards. Ballentine Elementary (Silver), Chapin Elementary (Gold), Chapin High (Gold), Chapin Intermediate (Silver), Chapin Middle (Gold), Dutch ForkContinue Reading

IRMO — Each March, the Office of Academics organizes a recycling initiative in recognition of Global Recycling Day, encouraging students and staff to contribute to sustainability efforts while supporting community partners. This year’s project focused on collecting recyclable materials for EdVenture Children’s Museum, which requested supplies for its A-Ha MakerContinue Reading