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Mission and Vision

Ashley River is a constitutent magnet school open to any student living in the West Ashley area of Charleston (Consolidated School District 10). Admissions are determined by lottery. We also serve students in a small attendance zone. 

Please contact the CCSD Office of School Choice to learn more about the application process and timeline.

CCSD Mission Statement

The mission of the Charleston County School, a dynamic system of challenging educational choices, is to increase student achievement overall and close achievement gaps in order to prepare all students to compete in a global economy and make a positive contribution to our community and nation.

Ashley River's Mission Statement

In partnership with parents and community, we will provide all students the opportunity to reach their maximum potential through an arts integrated academic curriculum providing relevant, diverse, and challenging learning experiences in a safe and positive environment.

Ashley River's MTSS Equity Statement

The Ashley River Creative Arts MTSS (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support) Team believes in the powerful children and art play in building a more just, equitable, and inclusive community. We are committed to providing the necessary tools, resources, and partnerships to support individualized access and support for all students, families, and our school community.


Philosophy
We have some basic beliefs that make us who we are at ARCAE.
These beliefs are:

  • All children have worth, dignity and are unique.
  • All children can learn and be successful through an arts infused curriculum.
  • A safe, positive, and challenging climate is necessary for learning.
  • All decisions must be based on what is in the best interest of all our students.
  • Family, students, educators, and the community must be partners in the educational process.
  • All must value the diversity of our school population.
  • The home environment plays a critical role in a child's development.
  • The quality of the future depends on the success of our children.

In our strategic plan for Ashley River Creative Arts, our goal for all students is to demonstrate mastery of South Carolina Standards in the areas of English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, and the Arts. We believe the arts enhance that learning.

As one of South Carolina’s first arts magnet schools, Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary in Charleston, SC has been a leader in arts education. Throughout our 40 years, we have opened our doors to regional, national and international visitors who’ve wanted to learn from and grow with us. In the spirit of creative risk taking, we continue to craft our approach to educating children within the arts and beyond through foundational community partnerships, such as with Engaging Creative Minds (ECM). As one of the first Arts in the Basic Curriculum Institute schools in SC, our longstanding artist in residency program model has been a staple of connecting our students with artists and creative thinkers for as long as our school has been in operation and has spawned ECM’s approach to reaching, teaching and inspiring students of all ages across the state. Through Charleston County School District’s effort, our school has been a model for the creation of a number of other arts magnet programs, the first of which was North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary, a place we consider our sister school. Through this generative relationship we have forged an arts magnet schools conference that has grown in both size and scope to include a burgeoning network of regional art schools. Our school’s dedication to arts education is documented in Creative Meaning through Literature and the Arts, where author and educator, Claudia Cornett, observed and described many of our teachers’ arts integrated lessons. As our school becomes more culturally diverse, we believe that the level of engagement provided through an arts integrated curriculum gives all of our students the unique opportunity to construct and internalize learning.