A recent graduation for students in Horry County, SC, made headlines when 26 students from Carolina Shores Acceleration Academy charter school received their diplomas. Many of the graduates overcame academic and life challenges to finish high school.
Myrtle Beach’s WBTW News13 covered the Dec. 4 commencement ceremony with a story titled “‘Proud of myself’: At-risk Horry County charter school students receive high school diplomas.”
“We just have such a wide range of students that come to our program with all different needs, all different places in their academic journey,” academy director Deirdra Brasch told WBTW News13. “This flexibility allows us to meet them where they’re at in their journey.”
The achievement underscores the importance of alternative education pathways. For students for whom the standard high-school trajectory may have been interrupted — due to work, family obligations or other life circumstances — charter and alternative schools offer renewed opportunity. Their success highlights not only academic perseverance, but also resilience and self-belief.
“I’m proud of myself,” graduate Giovanna Oliveri said. “That’s all I can say is I’m proud of myself.”
This event is a powerful example of how alternative and charter education options can help students rewrite their story and cross the finish line.
Carolina Shores Acceleration Academy (CSAA) is a South Carolina Public Charter School District high school in Myrtle Beach. CSAA offers a tuition-free, hybrid learning model that allows students in grades 9-12 to complete schoolwork from home and at the academy on N. Kings Highway.
