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Our Model

We teach students to think

Meeting Street Academy students demonstrate academic outcomes that significantly exceed national benchmarks.

Our students perform 24 percentage points higher in reading and 28 percentage points higher in math than their peers who come from similar income backgrounds across the country.

In addition to demonstrating proficiency, our students are growing at remarkable rates. More than 80 percent of our students meet or exceed annual growth expectations, compared to the national benchmark of approximately 50 percent.

Students develop critical thinking skills through engaging lessons. We push our students to question, create and apply what they learn through project-based activities rooted in real-world examples.

We offer a full-day academic program a full year earlier than traditional schools. Both 3- and 4-year-olds are encouraged to develop social, emotional, intellectual and physical skills.

By the Numbers

$1.4M
In scholarships
17:1
Student to teacher ratio
26%
Above peers nationally
4
field trips annually

We shape students’ character and support overall well-being

We aim to create future leaders. We focus on cultivating the characteristics that are associated with successful and happy adults. This Path to Success for students includes the following traits:

  • Gratitude
  • Self control
  • Optimism
  • Empathy
  • Citizenship
  • Grit
  • Curiosity
  • Integrity
  • Academic Achievement

We also support students’ physical development needs. Our on-site services include:

  • Speech and occupational therapy
  • Dental, vision and health screenings

We offer extraordinary experiences

Students are encouraged to expand their horizons and find new passions through exposure to a range of opportunities. Field trips start in kindergarten and older students go on overnight excursions.

Kindergarten – 2nd Grade Extracurricular Activities

  • Art
  • P.E.
  • Watoto
  • Mindful Movement

Special on-campus experiences also include Charleston Animal Society, South Carolina Aquarium, Riverbanks Zoo, Science Everywhere Adventure and Play to Code

3rd – 5th Grade

  • Watoto
  • Visual Arts
  • P.E.
  • Culinary Arts
  • Coding
  • Gardening
  • Sewing
  • Public Speaking
  • Financial Literacy
  • Mindful Movement

Students also engage in special on-campus experiences through partnerships with Charleston Animal Society, South Carolina Aquarium, Riverbanks Zoo and Garden and Science Everywhere Adventures.

Leadership Opportunities (3rd-5th grade)

  • Student Ambassadors
  • Student Leadership Council
  • The Gentlemen of Excellence Leadership Program

After School Programming

  • Be Great Academy, Powered by the Boys & Girls Club
  • The Young Gentlemen’s Club
  • Sports Performance & Conditioning

We’re committed to our alumni

We help students navigate the admissions process of the top middle and high schools in the Lowcountry to find the school that’s best for them. Our students earned $1.4 million in scholarships for the 2024-25 school year.

Additionally, students who graduate from the Academy are eligible for college scholarships of up to $40,000.

Access to Exclusive Scholarships

Our students get special access to significant college scholarships.

Learn About Our Scholarship

Families are Our No. 1 Partners

We are ambitious in our commitment to our families and expect ambitious commitment in return. Our students, families and faculty must work together and work hard to achieve our goals. Our unique Partnership Agreement outlines expectations around academics, health and well-being, social emotional development, and communication, and we each commit to our responsibilities.

Meet Our Principal

Tamil Goodson

Tamil Goodson is a visionary school leader whose commitment to excellence and student success has shaped her career. She serves as principal of Meeting Street Academy where she leads with high expectations and a deep belief in the potential of every student. She joined the Academy in 2024 as lower school principal and was promoted to lead the entire school in January 2025. Previously, she served as the founding principal of Meeting Street Schools’ first rural public charter school in Jasper County. She also spent five years at Meeting Street Academy – Spartanburg, serving as both an academic dean and teacher. Tamil earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the College of Charleston.

Questions?

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(843) 212-4908

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Why We Were Founded

The school opened in 2008 to give under-resourced children the opportunity to receive an exceptional education. Its founders, Ben and Kelly Navarro, are philanthropists who have put their own resources and work into ensuring the Academy’s children receive the same quality of education that their own children experienced.

Meetinbg Street Schools est. 2008

Schools

  • Meeting Street Academy — Charleston
  • Meeting Street Academy — Spartanburg
  • Meeting Street Elementary — Burns
  • Meeting Street Elementary & Middle — Brentwood

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