Board of Directors Election: Call for Candidates
About BPS
Bridges Preparatory School (BPS) is a public K-12 state charter school that provides learning experiences designed to promote the maximum potential of its students. Understanding that learning and growth occurs in a variety of formats and environments, BPS offers engaging activities for its student body. BPS desires to advance student development and leadership capacity, support students in the pursuit of their passions, connect students with one another, enhance creative competence, and increase the overall sense of community and enjoyment.
Founded in 2013, BPS has quickly become a leading charter school in the state with over 1,600 students to date, dedicated faculty and staff, a strong academic foundation, and a state-of-the-art campus. Every aspect of BPS is intentionally designed with its students in mind.
Mission Statement
To provide students equal access to a high-quality K-12 whole child education that maximizes academic excellence and strength of character in a student-centered learning environment created by a faculty of lifelong learners.
Vision Statement
To assist each child in developing his or her unique gift intellectually, physically, socially, and ethically through whole child instruction in order to prepare students for college and career readiness, while ensuring their ability to be productive citizens, serving the community, and readily competing in the ever-changing global society.
Click the links below to read the BPS Charter, Charter Amendments, and Bylaws:
What is a charter?
- A charter is the non-profit corporation’s founding document, which lays out the mission and all specifics about the school from curriculum to operations
- The charter document is the contract between the school and its sponsoring district, which describes the school’s performance goals and commitments that must be met in order to receive contract renewal
- A charter school is a monetarily free and zone-free public school that receives public money from its sponsoring district
- Applications for charter schools must be approved by the South Carolina Department of Education and then either the County or State District
- All charter schools are non-profit
- Charters allow for innovative curriculum and classroom instruction
- Charters are exempt from certain, but not all, traditional public school requirements
- A group of citizens can submit and get approval of a charter to run an independent public school
- Charter schools are open to the public and may be attended by choice, regardless of where a child resides in the district
- Each child must fill out an application for a charter school
- Typically, charter schools are smaller schools with fewer students per classroom than traditional public schools, but often also receive less funding (no transportation or facilities monies are assigned)
- Charter schools are held accountable by their test scores and can be closed for low academic performance (among other reasons)
- Charter schools allow parents to become intricately involved in their child’s education