Moving to Chapin or Lexington (Chapin High School or River Bluff High School) ? (Columbia: 2015, public schools)

[Fam4plusdog]

Good day ! We are moving to SC and are considering Chapin and Lexington.

Our oldest is going into high school and our youngest is elementary age. Our biggest priority is to move to an area with excellent public schools. We are currently moving from Farragut (Knoxville suburb), TN which our children have been challenged and have a strong school community (west Knoxville has been a great place to live during the last 7 years). We have also lived in Montgomery County, MD and Alpharetta, GA, all of which had some great public schools. High academics and community involvement/support of schools are key determining factor in finding a place for us to settle down.

I am also a teacher with over 12 years of experience and hope to apply for a job when we arrive to SC.

Any thoughts or insights into the schools systems between Chapin and Lexington, specifically Chapin High and River Bluff High ?

Thanks in advance!

[waccamatt]

River Bluff just opened last year and is supposed to be "cutting edge" in terms of facilities. With it being new, there wouldn't be a history with test scores, though. River Bluff is much closer to downtown and activities and Chapin is more exurban.

[LexingtonDad]

I really don't know much about Chapin high so I can't comment on it. But I am very familiar with River Bluff. It is the up and coming high school in the midlands and has more of a college feel than high school. Here is a post I made earlier this year and it still holds true:

"I have a child at RBHS and another one on the way and have been pretty involved in the school's inaugural year. All I can tell you is that you have never experienced a school with the environment and opportunity that RBHS offers. It is a first class campus with exceptional teachers and administrators that focus on developing students and working with parents. Physically it is the most impressive high school I have ever seen and words cannot do it justice, you have to tour the campus to see for yourself.

The class scheduling is unique in that they use a "FlexMod" model that gives the students a lot of freedom to work alone or in groups. If the student fails to keep up using their own means then they are given a schedule and will stay on the schedule until they get back on track. I cannot overstate the emphasis that is put on academics at RBHS, everything else is a distant second. I will say that any student will get a fine education at RBHS but if you have an exceptional child they will find themselves challenged and engaged at every turn. How many schools do you know of that have a school of Law and Global Policy available for their students?

Outside of the classroom the school has a first class sports program that will improve greatly with each class. Right now there is a lack of seniors in the program since the majority of them decided to remain at their former schools for their final year of high school but that will resolve itself naturally. The marching band won first place in their division in lower state competition and runner up state wide in its first year of existence and a number of the sports teams had years to be proud of.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here or via private message. Good luck."

And if you want to impress your kid just tell them that the school has 2 coffee shops for the students and the food in the cafeteria is excellent.

[Tiger17]

Chapin is an excellent choice and may be better suited if your children thrive better in a smaller school environment. If I were looking in Lexington, I'd look at Lexington High, personally. It isn't new and flashy, but it offers a better "overall" experience in my opinion. River Bluff is a great school and you definitely can't go wrong by going there. Just personal opinion. Take a look at each place and see what fits best for you.

[Fam4plusdog]

Thank you so much for the replies. They have been very helpful in our search. We hope to return to the Columbia area soon and visit the schools both in Chapin and Lexington. If anyone has more input, it's always greatly appreciated.

[ranger17]

there is also the new HS built a couple years ago between Chapin and Irmo (Spring Hill HS?) that is part of the Lex/Rich district 5 school system but if i am correct is a more specialized education/training school. We had a friend who's child was considering it; sounded like it was one where you applied to get in rather than automatic enrollment.

Unfortunately except for driving by it often i dont have any solid details on it lol. But depending on what a child is interested in, it may be another option to look into. Most of the families we were familiar with while we lived there (in Chapin) all had their kids in Chapin HS and were very happy there.

[Tiger17]

Spring Hill is the new magnet high school in District 5 that ranger is talking about. Also, don't rule out Dutch Fork. Great school.

[truthteller4life]

Thought this might be helpful for those moving or new to the area. A couple of stories have been released concerning the quality of the school system in the state. Many of the Lexington schools were highlighted.

Lexington County's River Bluff and Swansea high schools a lesson in disparity and complexity | Local News | The State
Lexington County Schools and Teachers Among Best in State | Lake and Main
Best Public High Schools in South Carolina | Lake and Main
https://k12.niche.com/rankings/publi...outh-carolina/

[Fam4plusdog]

Thank you for the recent response. It was very helpful !

[mc84]

How welcoming is the student population of RBHS to new students who relocate to the area? We once lived in SC, but now live in NC and will possibly be moving back in the future. Some schools have cliques where it's hard to get accepted; just wondering how true that is for RBHS. Thanks!