Legacy Early College: A Comprehensive Overview

Legacy Early College is a public charter school located in Greenville, SC, that strives to provide a unique educational experience by combining academic rigor with a focus on nutrition and fitness. Serving students from 4K through 12th grade, Legacy Early College aims to prepare every scholar for college and beyond.

A Message from the Director and Principal

The Director of Legacy Early College 4K Center expressed pride and enthusiasm for the 2025-2026 school year, highlighting the program's reputation for academic excellence, which is attributed to the dedication of scholars, teachers, staff, and families. The 4K program partners with First Steps 4K to provide free, high-quality four-year-old kindergarten. The focus is on building strong relationships, celebrating successes, and continuing to grow, with a commitment to nurturing children as the world’s most valuable resource.

The principal echoed this sentiment, welcoming everyone to the 2025-2026 school year. With 12 years spent at Legacy, the principal emphasized that Legacy is more than just a school-it’s a home. The goal is to provide transformative learning experiences in every classroom, ensuring that every scholar is college-bound and equipped to experience college-level academics while still in high school. Legacy Early College is energized to make this the best year yet, guided by the theme “Lead With Excellence.”

Key Facts and Figures

Location: Greenville, SC (small city setting)
Grades Served: PK-12
Total Student Population: 1,610
Minority Student Enrollment: 97%
Economically Disadvantaged Students: 100%
Student-Teacher Ratio: 12:1
Full-time Teachers: 131
Full-time School Counselors: 2

Academic Performance

Legacy Early College demonstrates promising academic outcomes, particularly in comparison to district averages.

Math Proficiency: 37% of students scored at or above the proficient level.
Reading Proficiency: 43% of students scored at or above the proficient level.

Compared to the Sc Public Charter School District, Legacy Early College showed stronger performance in math, where the district proficiency was also 37%, and weaker performance in reading, where the district proficiency stood at 52%. When compared to the South Carolina state averages, Legacy Early College underperformed in both math (39%) and reading (45%).

Rankings and Performance

Legacy Early College's ranking among South Carolina schools provides further insight into its academic standing:

Elementary School Reading Proficiency Rank: #468 out of 649
Middle School Reading Proficiency Rank: #160 out of 321
Elementary School Math Proficiency Rank: #364 out of 649
Middle School Math Proficiency Rank: #195 out of 321

Performance evaluations indicate that the elementary school reading performance is somewhat above expectations, while middle school reading performance is well above expectations. Both elementary and middle school math performances are well above expectations.

Educational Approach and Programs

Legacy Early College employs a comprehensive educational model that focuses on several key areas:

Dual Credit Program

Legacy Early College offers a dual credit program in partnership with North Greenville University and/or Greenville Technical College. This allows scholars in grades 11 and 12 to take college courses as an alternative to high school-level academic courses, providing them with a head start on their college education.

Curriculum

All science, mathematics, language arts, and history courses listed in the LECHS Curriculum Guide are offered to all scholars. A scholar’s program of study may include additional courses not offered at LECHS.

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Middle School Opportunities

Legacy Early College Middle School serves as a bridge from elementary to high school, offering advanced classes that allow scholars to earn up to 5 high school credits in subjects such as Spanish 1, Fundamentals of Web Page Design & Development, Digital Workplace Applications, English 1, and Geometry with Statistics.

4K Center

The 4K Center focuses on creating a caring community of learners, providing opportunities for each scholar to share their interests and culture. The curriculum includes daily physical education instruction and choices in daily learning to meet the individual needs of every scholar. Kindergarten readiness is assessed using the GOLD assessment.

Assessment and Identification

Scholars are regularly assessed using MAP and performance task assessments during their 5th-8th grade years. Identified scholars and their parents attend introductory meetings about high school and early college. High school scholars take ACT, End-of-Course, and Accuplacer Placement Tests to determine their readiness for early college classes.

Health and Fitness

Legacy Early College emphasizes health and fitness, providing scholars with health and fitness educational instruction and materials to promote lifelong healthy lifestyles. The school implements Active Classrooms (OPEN PE) and Walkabouts (Active ED) to engage scholars in fitness goals. Legacy is the only public school in SC that provides daily PE for every scholar.

Community and Values

Legacy Early College believes in the power of a group of individuals united by the same core values. These values guide what the school does each and every day. The school reflects both the West End renewal and the Sterling community tradition of pride and excellence. Interaction with others is based on a code of traditional values and respect.

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Technology Integration

Instruction is delivered through technology-based educational tools like Promethean Boards, Aquos Boards, iPads, and hand-held devices for mathematics like the TI-Nspire navigation system.

History and Vision

Legacy Early College originated in 2009 through the vision of businessman William Brown, a lifelong advocate of education. Legacy Early College has four divisions on three campuses in West Greenville. The 4K Center begins to build our scholars' academic foundation to success.

Teaching and Learning

Legacy Early College’s teaching and learning is guided by ADEPT (Assisting, Developing, and Evaluating of Professional Teaching). The school strongly believes that with a balance of challenge and support, all scholars will flourish. Small class sizes, personalized learning experiences, and support programs enable all scholars to be successful.

Scholar Testimonials

One graduate stated, “Legacy has been more than just a school to me. I was blessed with amazing teachers who guided me into the path of college. I graduated college in 2020 with a Bachelors in Education and two minors."
Another alumnus shared, “Legacy best prepared me for postgraduate by teaching me the importance of professionalism and image and the significance behind preparation."
A former student recalled, “I recall spending my mornings and afternoons with my advisory. During that time, we would complete homework, meditate, learn values on how to become professionals and talk a heap about sports. It served as an enriching start to my day and provided an opportunity to form lasting bonds with classmates who would eventually graduate alongside me."
One student noted, "My favorite thing about Legacy is the community here."
Another graduate added, “I’m glad I graduated Legacy because Legacy was able to give me the opportunity to go to college I wanted. They prepared me and made sure that I received the test scores my school required."

Legacy's Pillars: Academics, Nutrition, and Fitness

Legacy's education model combines academic excellence, nutrition, and fitness. Legacy serves only nutritious meals and is the only public school in SC that provides daily PE for every scholar.

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