AAST strives to offer a well-rounded educational experience that provides both mental and physical opportunities for student growth and achievement. The AAST experience is organized around specific career majors to ensure that students are successfully prepared to enter their career of choice or their next level of education.
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) teaching and learning are integrated throughout all programs of study at AAST as well as core academic courses and electives offered at the school. This educational philosophy is focused on the following best practices: Project-Based Learning that is authentically interdisciplinary in nature, student inquiry, and academic work that is centered around understanding and solving real-world problems. Each STEM Career Pathway at AAST requires students to work closely with faculty experts as well as community mentors in job shadowing, internships, and/or a culminating academic presentation which demonstrates the depth of learning that each student has obtained throughout his/her time at AAST.
AAST offers the following STEM Career Pathways:
The Academy for the Arts, Science, and Technology (AAST) is a program school that serves students from nine high schools in Horry County. Students may participate in extracurricular activities at their base school if the same activity is not offered at AAST. In order to apply to AAST, students must first enroll in their base school. Students who apply to AAST must follow the district-established timeline when submitting their applications. Online applications will be available on the AAST website and the Horry County Schools website in early January.
Rising juniors from any of the nine Horry County base high schools may apply for entrance into any of our career pathways for their junior and senior years. STEM Career Pathways at AAST are Advanced Art, Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Science, Entertainment Technology, Environmental Engineering, Computer Science, Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Informatics, Innovations in STEM, Networking, Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medicine and Web and Digital Communications.
Students must meet all academic requirements, have earned enough credits to be classified as eleventh grade students, and be prepared to make a two-year commitment to AAST and their chosen pathways. Students will be notified of their acceptance and asked, along with their parents, to sign a commitment form to participate in the major during the upcoming school year. All commitment forms must be returned by the stated deadline.
At AAST, seniors will complete a Senior Mastery. Students enrolled in any of the thirteen career pathways will complete a Senior Mastery with their major teacher. If a student decides to pair the STEM Career Pathway with AP Capstone, the Senior Mastery can encompass both areas of study.
The Academy for the Arts, Science, and Technology (AAST) does not graduate students. All students who attend AAST will receive their South Carolina High School Diploma from their base high school.
To be eligible to receive a South Carolina High School Diploma, students must earn 24 units. Based on state law, those requirements are:
English/Language Arts 4 Units
S. History and Constitution 1 Unit
Economics (1/2 Unit), Government (1/2 Unit) 1 Unit
Other Social Studies 1 Unit
Mathematics 4 Units
Science 3 Units
Physical Education or ROTC 1 Unit
Computer Science 1 Unit
Foreign Language or Career & Technology Education 1 Unit
Electives 7 Units
TOTAL 24 UNITS
High schools uniformly determine the class rankings of students based on the Grade Point Ratios (GPRs) of students in grade twelve. GPRs are calculated after the seniors’ grades are finalized at the end of the school year. GPRs will be used to determine honor graduates at the graduation ceremony for the individual base high school. AAST is not a diploma issuing institution. All students graduate for the individual base high schools. HCSD uses the Latin Honor system as follows:
Summa Cum Laude - GPR of 4.750 or higher on the SC Uniform Grading Scale.
Magna Cum Laude - GPR of 4.250 or higher, but less than 4.750 on the SC Uniform Grading Scale.
Cum Laude - GPR of 3.750 or higher, but less than 4.250 on the SC Uniform Grading Scale.
The GPR will also be used to determine the Valedictorian (senior with the highest weighted GPR) and the
Salutatorian (senior with the second highest weighted GPR) at each base school. Preliminary Class Ranking of seniors for college admissions and/or scholarships will occur on the 135th day of school.
To determine Junior Marshals for base school graduation ceremonies, eleventh graders will be preliminarily ranked on the 135th day of school.
The uniform grading policy applies in all SC high schools. The complete text of the grading policy can be obtained by accessing the State Department of Education’s website at www.state.sc.us/sde.
The Academy for the Arts, Science, and Technology uses a computer system, PowerSchool, for grade reporting and issuing of interim reports every four and one-half (4 ½) weeks and report cards at the end of each nine (9) week period. Number grades are reported on report cards and permanent records. This grading system is mandated by the state, and each individual grade point is assigned a point value. Parents and students should contact the guidance department if further clarification is needed.
All grades on report cards and transcripts in SC public high schools will be numerical. A student’s GPA and rank in class will be figured from a grade-point conversion table available on the website listed above and printed on transcripts.
Students and parents should choose courses carefully. The guidelines that outline consequences for students who withdraw from a course are: Students who withdraw from a course after 3 days in a 45-day course or 5 days in a 90-day course, or 10 days in a 180-day course shall be assigned a Withdraw Failure (WF), earning a grade of 50 and 0 quality points. The F will be calculated in the student’s overall grade point ratio.