All Clover schools receive Palmetto Gold Award

The South Carolina Department of Education announced today for the first time, all nine Clover schools were awarded the Palmetto Gold award for General Performance, while four schools also received either the Gold or Silver award for Closing the Achievement Gap.

The Palmetto Gold and Silver Awards program, founded in 1998, recognizes schools for General Performance and Closing the Achievement Gap. Within those two categories, a school may be awarded either the gold or silver designation.

Crowders Creek Elementary School and Clover High School received Gold awards for Closing the Achievement Gap, while Bethany and Larne elementary schools were awarded Silver.

Crowders Creek Elementary has been awarded the Palmetto Gold Award in General Performance every year since 2006. Griggs Road Elementary has received the accolade for the seventh consecutive year, while Bethany, Bethel and Larne elementary schools and Oakridge Middle were named recipients of the Gold award for the sixth straight year. Clover High earned its fifth consecutive gold honor, while Kinard Elementary received its third. Clover Middle rounded out the list of gold awards, earning its gold award for the first time and giving the district 100 percent representation.

Clover School District was one of five districts in the state of South Carolina to have all of its schools earn Palmetto Gold Awards.

Of the 590 award recipients, only 50 schools were awarded the gold designation for both general performance and closing the achievement gap. Clover School District placed two schools in this elite group: Crowders Creek Elementary and Clover High.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 4:41 PM with the headline "All Clover schools receive Palmetto Gold Award."