Academic Magnet High School (AMHS) is a high school (grades 9-12) in North Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The school enrolls students through an admissions process based on middle school grades, test scores, teacher recommendations, and a written essay.
History
Military Magnet Academy - Charleston's 32nd Christmas Parade - The Military Magnet Academy of North Charleston SC. The Military Magnet Academy is a caring school where all cadets are challenged to learn everyday. The Military Magnet Academy prepares students...
Academic Magnet High School was established in 1988, and the first class graduated in 1992. The school was originally located as a separate sub-campus of Burke High School in downtown Charleston. It then moved to the Charleston Naval Base, where it stayed until 2010, when it moved to the newly built Bonds Wilson campus on the site of the old Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston, South Carolina. Academic Magnet shares this state-of-the-art campus with the Charleston County School of the Arts middle and high schools. The new campus is part of an effort by the Charleston County School District to upgrade its facilities.
Students
Academic Magnet enrolled over 615 students in the 2013รข€"2014 school year. Compared to the average South Carolina high school, it has a higher Asian-American population, and a lower African-American population.
The school's SAT scores have been the second-best in the state since 1998, surpassed only by the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics. Graduates of AMHS have gone on to attend prestigious school such as Harvard University, Princeton University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, the United States Naval Academy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Duke University, Northwestern University, California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Vassar College, Bates College, University of Oxford, Swarthmore College, and Washington and Lee University.
Academic Magnet is composed of students who reside in Charleston County and of students who own property in Charleston County in accordance with S.C. Code Section 59-63-30. The school is part of the Charleston County School District 20.
Curriculum
To graduate, students must complete tasks that go beyond the standard credits and classes taken in high school. Students are required to fulfill a 90-hour service requirement, take (and pass) at least four Advanced Placement (AP) courses throughout their high school career, and complete an original research project known as the senior thesis in order to receive an Academic Magnet diploma.
For their senior theses, AMHS students take about a full year, beginning midway through their junior years, to research a topic of their choice and write a five-chapter research document. They are helped in the process by an advisor (AMHS teacher) and a mentor (expert in the student's chosen field). The thesis process culminates in a presentation of the findings to a three-member board composed of the student's advisor, mentor, and a third party. AMHS students particularly successful in their theses have gone on to present their findings at conferences specific to their field, have their research published, and receive patents for products they developed for their project.
Recognition
In the May 19, 2008 Newsweek cover story, Academic Magnet High School was ranked 7th among national public high schools based on an index consisting of the quotient of AP exams taken by all students and the quantity and quality of graduating seniors. Most recently, it was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the 7th best high school in the nation.
Faculty
The principal is no longer Judith Peterson, and is now Catherine Spencer. She succeeded Michael Tolley as full-time principal, as he moved to Seattle to become an administrator in that city's school system. Lucy Pinckney became the school's assistant principal after coming from Military Magnet Academy.
Sports
Despite its relatively small size, Academic Magnet fields a wide variety of sports teams, including particularly strong soccer, swimming, and sailing programs on both the men's and women's sides. Recently, the AMHS Raptors have seen athletic success. To date, the school has won 12 state championships, each of which was won in the past four years, including five championships in the 2013-2014 school year alone. The football team achieved its first ever winning record (6-5) in the 2012 season. In October 2013, the Raptors' men's swim team became the first sports team from AMHS to win back-to-back SCHSL state titles, a feat later matched by the women's soccer team. In addition to team success, AMHS has had individual state champions in men's and women's cross country and track, men's and women's swimming, and wrestling, and has sent many student-athletes on to compete at the collegiate level.
- Baseball (men's varsity & JV): 2016-2017 National Champions
- Basketball (men's varsity & JV)
- Basketball (women's varsity & JV)
- Cheerleading
- Crew (rowing) (men's)
- Crew (rowing) (women's)
- Cross country (men's): 2006, 2007, 2008 A State runners-up, 2012 AA State runners-up, 2013 AA State Champions
- Cross country (women's)
- Dance
- Football: 2012 first-ever winning record (6-5)
- Golf (men's): 2010 A State Champions
- Golf (women's)
- Lacrosse (men's)
- Lacrosse (women's)
- Sailing: 2011, 2013, 2014 State Champions, 2012 State runners-up
- Soccer (men's): 2008, 2009, 2010 A State runners-up, 2012, 2014 AA State Champions
- Soccer (women's): 2011, 2013, 2014 AA State Champions, 2012 AA State runners-up
- Softball
- Swimming (men's): 2004, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015 AAA-AA-A State runners-up, 2012, 2013 AAA-AA-A State Champions
- Swimming (women's): 2013 AAA-AA-A State runners-up 2015 AAA-AA-A State Champions
- Tennis (men's): 2016 AA State Champions
- Tennis (women's)
- Track and field (men's)
- Track and field (women's)
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
State Champion teams:
- Cross country (men's): 2013
- Cross country (women's): 2014
- Golf (men's): 2010
- Sailing: 2011, 2013, 2014
- Soccer (men's): 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017
- Soccer (women's): 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
- Swimming (men's): 2012, 2013
- Swimming (women's): 2015
- Tennis (men's): 2016
Clubs
AMHS has over 60 student-run clubs, offering a club for nearly every interest.
- A capella (Unaccompanied Minors)
- Academic Bowl (2012 Lowcountry Champions)
- African Awareness
- Asian Awareness
- Chess Club
- Dirty Birds (the AMHS drum group, acting as a unique band for the school)
- F2: Film and Fine Arts Club
- Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
- Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)
- Investment Club
- Junior Intermezzo
- Key Club
- Movie Mania Club
- Mu Alpha Theta (math)
- National French Honor Society
- National Spanish Honor Society
- Physics Club
- Science Olympiad (2015 State Champions)
- Speech and Debate Team
- Taco Dodgeball Club
References
External links
- School profile
- AMHS homepage