Education

Greenwood’s public education system, involving three school districts encompassing Greenwood, Ninety Six, and Ware Shoals, provides solid instruction and a strong core curriculum. Programs for segments of the population with special needs are also available as well as programs tailored for gifted and talented students beginning in the third grade and continuing through high school. Extracurricular programs for students include chorus, art, band, and theater.

Numerous private schools offering instruction from preschool through 12th grade are also available for students. Each of the schools feature different curriculum such as college preparatory as well as special needs.

For those wishing to continue their education, Lander University and Piedmont Technical College offer a wide range of classes.

Lander University, a four-year, coeducational public university, offers more than 40 areas of study. Lander University was founded in 1872 in Williamston, S.C. as a women’s college and moved to Greenwood in 1904.

Lander University plans to construct a state-of-the-art recreation, wellness and sports complex as a private-public venture. The property is located just two blocks from the Lander campus and the project will include a wellness facility, a public park, stadiums for baseball, soccer and softball, 12 tennis courts, practice and intramural fields and a perimeter track.

The relocation of the Lander athletic fields will free up space on campus, space that is needed for a growing student body. Lander currently has about 3,000 students, and the university’s strategic plan calls for enrollment to grow to 3,500. Because of their strong sports and academics programs, Lander draws students from two-dozen states and many foreign countries.

Piedmont Technical College opened in 1966 and had an enrollment of only 300 students in 10 programs. Today, more than 5,000 full time students majoring in more than 70 courses of study attend Piedmont Technical College.

Each of the seven counties in Piedmont Technical College’s service areas, Abbeville, Edgefield, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, and Saluda, and have their own learning centers and staff offering numerous courses and programs. In addition, 10,000 to 15,000 students participate in continuing education courses.

Because they are tied to the employment needs of the area through strong business-education partnerships, many academic programs enjoy 100 percent job placement rates year after year. Innovative instructional practice, distance learning opportunities, and the vision to bring the future to today’s students combine to make PTC a model institution regionally and nationally.