Along with its rich history, Charleston also has a claim to fame with many of its schools. Here are three that we find exemplary.

Charleston County School of the Arts (SOA)

This one is particularly near and dear to our hearts, as we have sponsored events for their students in the past.

Rose Maree Myers founded SOA in 1995, and it was recently named the second-best high school in the state by U.S. News and World Report. When Rose Maree founded the school, there were only sixth and seventh grades. As time went by, more grades were added to make today’s 6–12 school.

SOA offers eight art majors, including piano, string orchestra, vocal music, theater, and dance. Students audition for no more than two majors, and once accepted into one, spend one-fourth of their day in that area. SOA’s strenuous curriculum focuses on creativity and problem solving so that students self develop and learn individually.

Thanks to the challenging curriculum, which includes Advanced Placement courses, students develop high levels of intellect, maturity, creativity, and cooperation, and they earn scholarships, awards, and the respect of patrons of the arts and peers.

To learn more about SOA, visit their website at http://soa.ccsdschools.com/.

The Citadel

Founded in 1842, The Citadel, also known as The Military College of South Carolina, is one of the six Senior Military Colleges in the United States. It is famed for its reputation of preparing leaders. Its Corps of Cadets takes classes in 17 academic departments, divided into five schools that offer 19 majors and 35 minors.

The Corp of Cadets study under the day program and live under a traditional military system, which includes residing on campus for all four years. The evening program, known as The Citadel Graduate College, is geared toward working adults and includes a postgraduate program and a distance learning online degree program.

For the third consecutive year, The Citadel was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the top public college in the South.

For more information on The Citadel, visit http://www.citadel.edu.

American College of the Building Arts (ACBA)

If you’ve ever wandered around a classic, historic home and said something like, “Homes aren’t built like this anymore,” know that the reason for that is the lack of people skilled in that type of building. Not many people want to learn those skills at that expert level, but those who do train at ACBA.

The American College of the Building Arts is the only college that offers a Bachelor in Applied Science in Building Arts (B.A.S.) degree. Students major in the Building Arts and select one of the six areas of craft specialization in which to focus the work in a trade. Majors include timber framing, carpentry, architectural stone, masonry, plaster, and forged architectural iron.

The degree consists of 138 credit hours taken over four years, which includes72 hours of general education coursework and 66 craft specialization hours. Students must successfully complete three internships lasting eight weeks in their craft specialization.

To learn more about the American College of the Building Arts, visit the website: http://buildingartscollege.us.