Liberty STEAM Charter School

Liberty STEAM Charter works to provide all students with equal access to a world-class K-12 education in an academically rigorous and student-centered learning environment, creating graduates who will be thoughtful and engaged citizens prepared to take on the leadership challenges of the 21st century.

Liberty STEAM Charter, a tuition-free, open-enrollment public charter school to be located in Sumter, South Carolina, opened its second campus in the Fall of 2023 and is now serving a total of 600 scholars across two campuses in grades K-3. The first-ever of its existence in the community, the charter school will serve scholars in grades K-12 at its build out with grade levels being phased in over time to ensure quality educational programming is offered to all enrolled scholars. The vision and mission of the school is predicated upon a general theory of action that has been well-communicated by its supporters who believe if a school existed which emphasized a focus on STEAM career fields through project-based learning and personalized learning, seeking to provide scholars with a blend of rigorous & relevant academic and workplace learning experiences, then its graduates will leave with the competencies necessary to be successful in college or career. As such, the school will eventually serve as the cradle-to-college/workforce pipeline in the Sumter community and become an integral part of a holistic revitalization approach. A planning committee has been formed, who will collectively author the state charter school application for submission in late Winter of 2020. By leveraging innovative practices common to some of the state and nation's top-performing public schools, the proposed charter school is ready to shatter the opportunity gap for all scholars. In addition to a project-based learning approach with an integration of the STEAM curriculum, scholars will be provided with a strong foundation in literacy to help define and achieve their dreams.

Testimonials

Sumter's Journey to Educational Equity
__________________________________________________________________________________

Pulling onto School Street in 1949, you would have come upon Liberty Street Elementary School, the first 1st through 6th-grade public school for African-Americans in Sumter. 72 years later in 2021, Liberty STEAM Charter School (LSC), Sumter's first public charter school, opened its doors to 192 diverse scholars, in that exact location.

The rebirth of this historic property along with the LSC's logo, the torch, symbolizes hope and empowerment to the children and families here in Sumter County. Our torch, just as our Statue of Liberty's torch gave hope to many people coming to America, is a constant reminder of the power of choice our community now has.

LSC provides our community with promise for our child's futures. We embrace diverse communities, cultures, identities, and abilities of all scholars and help them foster character strengths essential for their own success, empowering them to express their voices confidently and improve the world around them. We are proud to represent the community we serve, serving 337 scholars in grades kindergarten through second, with the breakdown of our scholar profile being 60% minority, 60% Free/Reduced Lunch, 10% Special Education Services (SPED), and 11% Military.

Greg A. Thompson, Board Chairman shared, "we started Liberty because, in the rural south, everyone realizes today that a great public education is very challenging to achieve, and Sumter is no different. And so we wanted to start Liberty with the goal in mind to be in the number one public school in the state of South Carolina to provide high-quality education to our citizens of Sumter and the surrounding region."

Our vision is grounded in having partnerships with our local community that push the educational experience that our scholars have. Throughout our academic program, we want to ensure that we have game-changing opportunities inside and outside the classroom for every scholar. We encourage them to grow in our three core values: passion for growth, power of the team, and stand up and own it.

Our model prepares scholars with the academic foundation to pursue college studies or the career track and live a choice-filled life. Furthermore, we ensure that they will leave high school with real-world skills and habits to succeed in industry careers that offer meaningful salaries, aiming to produce upstanding, productive citizens for Sumter County.

Passion for Growth
We are developing tomorrow's leaders who will contribute to the economic well-being of their communities and families, and we take that very seriously. We create clearly defined, measurable high expectations for our scholars to promote academic achievement and good conduct, ultimately creating and reinforcing a culture of achievement and support. And our scholars are eager to deliver.

The community's most significant gift is the precious resource of their children...