What starts here changes everything.

Applications for the 2024-2025 school year are now open. Visit hhca.org today to apply!

Hilton Head Christian Academy is a private, Christian K-12 college preparatory school.

John Paul Ii Catholic School

Type: Private

Grades: 6th to 12th grade

Website: johnpaul2school.org

John Paul II Catholic School educates students of all faiths in a caring, Christcentered environment. JPII prepares students to be “scholars with a soul in accordance with the traditions of the Catholic faith” and through the intentional commitment to our core values of service, high expectations, innovation, excellence, leadership, and discipleship.

May River Montessori

Type: Private

Grades: Preschool to 12th grade

Website: mayrivermontessori.com

May River Montessori inspires a love of learning, compassion, and acceptance through an authentic Montessori community. May River Montessori opened its doors in 1987. Since then the school has continued to grow through three relocations and over seven major additions and renovations to its current home. May River Montessori has played a significant role in the social and educational environment of the growing Bluffton community.

ST. GREGORY THE GREAT CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Type: Private

Grades: Pre school to 6th grade

Website: sggcs.org

Saint Gregory the Great Catholic School is dedicated to the spiritual, cultural, social, moral, and intellectual development of students of all faiths. As a preschool through 6th grade ministry of Saint Gregory the Great Parish, in collaboration with its families and faith community, it offers a challenging curriculum in a “nurturing, Christian environment, rooted in Catholic tradition.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND PRIVATE SCHOOLS:

Heritage Academy

Type: Private Grades: 6th to 12th grade

Website: heritageacademy.org

A private, coeducational school for grades 6 to 12, Heritage Academy is fully accredited by SCISA and COGNIA. The school has students from the local community, as well as internationally, who take advantage of the school’s unique academic program and philosophy. Heritage Academy’s students actively engage in learning as accomplished scholars, artists, and athletes whether in the classroom or pursuing extracurricular activities. The academic expectations and level of instruction at Heritage Academy exceed SCISA/COGNIA guidelines, university admissions criteria and NCAA Eligibility Center standards.

Hilton Head Preparatory School

Type: Private Grades: Junior Kindergarten to 12th grade

Website: hhprep.org

Student Population: 440

With new Head of School, Paul W. Horgan, completing his first year, exciting things are on the horizon for Hilton Head Prep. Hilton Head Prep is an accredited independent school with exemplary faculty who strive to create students of character, integrity and responsibility in a safe and welcoming environment. With small class sizes , Hilton Head Prep uses an innovative college preparatory curriculum that includes courses in liberal arts, science, technology and ethics, as well as rigorous Advanced Placement and honors courses. The school is continually ranked among the top K-12 independent schools locally, regionally and nationally, and 100% of Hilton Head Prep graduates are accepted to college. Hilton Head Prep also offers numerous opportunities for participation in athletics, the arts, afterschool clubs and community service.

Island Academy

Type: Private

Grades: Preschool to 12th grade

Website: hhiacademy.org

The mission of The Island Academy of Hilton Head is to provide students with a collaborative, challenging, and creative learning environment empowering them to be contributing citizens. The school seeks to ensure that all students participate in their own education. It provides a unique learning opportunity by partnering with the community, focusing on mastery over grades, and teaching children how to become curious lifelong thinkers and doers who explore and create in and beyond the classroom.

SEA PINES MONTESSORI ACADEMY

Type: Private

Grades: 18 months to 6th grade

Website: spma.com

Sea Pines Montessori Academy provides high quality authentic Montessori education to children beginning at the toddler age through grade 6.

SPMA celebrates 55 years in the community this school year. Founded in 1968 by the late Mary Fraser, the school has grown exponentially in the past 55 years, educating many island residents. The school serves children ages 18 months through 12 years old and will be adding a middle school classroom in the fall of 2024. The facility offers large classrooms, full library, school gardens, and a shaded playground.

For more than a century, the Montessori method has been inspiring and developing capable people who not only excel academically but who are thoughtful and have a strong sense of self and their relation to the world. Through carefully designed multiage classrooms the child can work with hands-on multisensory materials designed to ignite a love for learning. SPMA enriches the Montessori curriculum with additional music, art, Spanish, and physical education classes for children in kindergarten and up. Elementary students have music classes with instruction in Suzuki violin, fitness classes with formal lessons in tennis and golf, and opportunities to participate in Model UN.

ST. FRANCIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Type: Private

Grades: Pre-K4 to 8th

Website: sfcshhi.com

The school’s mission is to nurture students’ spiritual and intellectual growth in “an authentically Catholic community committed to academic excellence.” It provides each student with a solid academic background, using the best available teaching methods, materials, and technology. visit us @ ANTHEMMEDIAGROUP.COM for

HIGHER EDUCATION:

University Of South Carolina Beaufort

Type: Public university

Grades: Undergraduate and graduate programs

Website: uscb.edu

Student Population: 2,100

USCB offers small classes and personalized instruction in 51 areas including 19 bachelor’s degree and two master’s degree programs. Associate’s degrees and 100 percent online degrees are also offered. The graduate programs are M.S. in Computational Science and M.Ed. in Literacy. USCB specializes in experiential learning, with students participating in internships, community service projects, international programs, fieldwork and research. The Beaufort College Honors program is open to qualified students of all majors and has specific cohorts in Biology and Nursing. The Sand Sharks compete in 13 men’s and women’s sports — baseball, basketball, softball, women’s soccer, golf, cross country, indoor/outdoor track and field — in the NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference. Students from 31 states and 19 countries live in apartment-style residences on the Beaufort and Bluffton campuses. USCB’s world-renowned Hospitality Management program is based on Hilton Head Island.

USCB is the lead on a $1 million National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines Development Award to establish the Maritime Cybersecurity Institute in the Lowcountry. Collaborating with partners, USCB will conduct research to understand vulnerabilities, interdependencies and risks in the regional maritime ecosystem and develop technologies to enhance safety and security. Enhanced cybersecurity education and workforce development programs are among the program’s goals.

Technical College Of The Lowcountry

Type: Public

Grades: Two-year, post-secondary education and workforce training.

Website: tcl.edu

The Technical College of the Lowcountry offers 60+ degree, certificate and diploma pathways across credit and non-credit programs. Our student body is diverse, active and engaged. Student-centered learning happens in real-world settings in and out of the classroom, in-person and online. The College offers the highest quality programs to prepare you to transfer to a four-year university or to enter a high-skilled, in-demand career.

SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN (SCAD)

Type: Private, nonprofit, accredited university

Grades: Undergraduate and graduate studies

Student Population: 16,000+

Website: scad.edu

SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 16,000 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 120 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professionallevel technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD is No. 1 in the U.S., according to Art & Object’s 2023 Best Art Schools ranking, with additional top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. For the past five years, 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 10 months of graduation.

SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more.