School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties (abbreviated as District Five or informally as Lex-Rich Five) is a

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

school district encompassing a land area of approximately 196 square miles, (508 km²), roughly half of which is situated in each of Lexington and Richland counties. Student enrollment is at 16,717 as of August 2005. The school district consists of the northern portion of Lexington County lying north of Lake Murray and the

Saluda River The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, whic ...

and the northwestern portion of Richland County lying south of the Broad River. The School District is primarily a residential suburb located to the northwest of the city of Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina. Included in the District Five are the towns of Irmo and Chapin. The school district has three attendance areas: Chapin, Dutch Fork, and Irmo. District Five operates a total of 12 elementary schools, four middle schools, five high schools, and one alternative school. The interim Superintendent is Akil Ross, appointed in June 2021 following the sudden resignation of former superintendent Christina Melton at a board meeting on June 14 over conflicts with some school board members. The Chief of Academics and Administration is Tina McCaskill. The Current Board Chair is Kimberly Snipes.

History

In February 2023, an AP English teacher in Chapin was forced to halt a lesson on

Ta-Nehisi Coates Ta-Nehisi Paul Coates ( ; born September 30, 1975) is an American author, journalist, and activist. He gained a wide readership during his time as national correspondent at ''The Atlantic'', where he wrote about cultural, social, and political is ...

' book

Between the World and Me ''Between the World and Me'' is a 2015 nonfiction book written by American author Ta-Nehisi Coates and published by Spiegel & Grau. It was written by Coates as a letter to his then-teenage son about his perception of what the feelings, symbolism ...

by school administrators, who claimed that the lesson violated state budget provisions. South Carolina law prohibits the use of state funds for lessons that teach that "an individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex" or "an individual, by virtue of his race or sex, is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously."

Schools

High schools

Irmo High School Irmo High School is a public high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Lexington County, South Carolina, Lexington County, South Carolina, United States, - The school is not directly shown on the map, but comparing its location with th ...

Dutch Fork High School Dutch Fork High School is a school in the Lexington & Richland County School District Five, located in unincorporated Richland County, South Carolina, with an Irmo postal address. Notable alumni * Tyler Bass, NFL kicker for the Buffalo Bill ...

Chapin High School Chapin High School is a public high school in Chapin, South Carolina. Nearly 1,400 students attend Chapin High School, as of the 2017–2018 school year. Chapin High School is one of four high schools in Lexington & Richland County School D ...

* Spring Hill High School
Academy for Success
- alternative school

Elementary and middle schools

* Ballentine Elementary School * Chapin Elementary School * Dutch Fork Elementary School * H. E. Corley Elementary School * Harbison West Elementary School * Irmo Elementary School * Lake Murray Elementary School * Leaphart Elementary School * Nursery Road Elementary School * Oak Pointe Elementary School * Piney Woods Elementary School * River Springs Elementary School * Seven Oaks Elementary School * Chapin Middle School * Crossroads Intermediate School * Chapin Intermediate School * Dutch Fork Middle School * Irmo Middle School

References

External links

*
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
2008 archive of website {{DEFAULTSORT:Lexington and Richland County School District Five Education in Columbia, South Carolina Education in Richland County, South Carolina Education in Lexington County, South Carolina School districts in South Carolina