The Island Academy of Hilton Head

Heritage Academy is a co-educational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 to 12 at 11 New Orleans Road on Hilton Head Island. Our 30 faculty members keep an average student-to-teacher ratio of 5:1, and no class has more than 15 students. We hold accreditation from Cognia and SCISA, and our courses are NCAA approved. Middle schoolers take English, math, science and social studies in 85-minute blocks and are placed by skill rather than grade, so qualified students can earn high school credit early. High school students complete a 21-credit diploma with access to AP courses, the AP Capstone program, and dual enrollment through the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Lees-McRae College and Technical College of the Lowcountry. We also run an online school for grades 6 to 12 and offer a Dual Language Diploma. Our flexible schedule suits students who train seriously in sports, flying, visual arts or dance. Heritage teams compete in golf, tennis, swimming, sailing and sporting clays, and students may also play on Beaufort County School District teams. Electives include coding, culinary arts, computer animation and guitar.

Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center is a Title I public school in the Beaufort County School District, serving pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students on Pembroke Drive. Children here take an active part in their own learning, with room for curiosity, exploration and self-expression. Eligibility for our pre-kindergarten program comes through a district developmental screening that identifies children who will benefit most from early learning and extra support. Pre-K classrooms use The Creative Curriculum for Preschool, and teachers track growth with Teaching Strategies GOLD, an observational assessment they use to adjust instruction. In kindergarten, students study weather, plants and animals, the five senses, maps, and community roles through investigations, songs, books, and purposeful play. Our specials include art, music, physical education, library media, and an inquiry-based Explorations class. We also provide ESOL and literacy support, a school counselor, district transportation, and a Virtual Calming Room with live animal cams and yoga poses.

At Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts, visual arts, music, dance, theatre, creative writing and multimedia technology are woven into the academic day. We integrate the arts into math and reading where it fits, while still teaching each subject on its own every day, and science and social studies lessons lean on the arts to deepen understanding. We are a Title I elementary school in Beaufort County School District, paired with Daufuskie Island School, and we enroll students from Seabrook to St. Helena Island, Beaufort, Bluffton and the islands. Students perform, exhibit artwork, join special performing groups and take part in a curriculum-connected Artist-in-Residence program and grade-level field trips. Assessment data drives small, flexible groups, and some students change classes for reading and math. We are an Arts in the Basic Curriculum model site, and our families help lead through the PTO.