Heron Virtual Academy of South Carolina

Heron Virtual Academy of South Carolina is a public charter high school located in Greenville, South Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 706 students. The school is part of the Charter Institute at Erskine district, which is ranked 40 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Heron Virtual Academy significantly underperforms compared to the state and its surrounding schools on standardized test scores. In 2024-2025, the school ranked 232 out of 235 high schools in South Carolina, with 0 out of 5 SchoolDigger stars. Its proficiency rates on end-of-course exams are well below the state and district averages, ranging from 18.24% to 69.37% proficient, compared to the state averages of 61.66% to 86.41%. The school's performance is particularly concerning for specific student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 1-2% of high schools in the state for female, male, African American, White, and low-socioeconomic status students in 2024-2025. Additionally, Heron Virtual Academy's four-year graduation rates have fluctuated between 49.7% and 86.6% over the past two years, which is lower than the state average of around 85%, and its dropout rates have ranged from 1.8% to 4.0%, which is higher than the state average.

In contrast, the nearby public high schools, such as Mauldin High, Riverside High, and Greenville Senior High Academy, significantly outperform Heron Virtual Academy on academic measures. Additionally, the School for the Governor's School for Arts and Humanities, a specialized public high school in Greenville, demonstrates exceptional academic performance, with proficiency rates above 95% on end-of-course exams and a long history of top state rankings. Heron Virtual Academy's lower per-student spending and higher student-teacher ratio may contribute to its underperformance compared to nearby traditional public high schools.