On Tuesday, March 10, Gray Collegiate Academy (GCA) hosted a press conference to announce the opening of a new satellite campus in Columbia.
The campus, located at 1001 Pinnacle Point Drive, will initially serve 554 students in grades K-5.
As a satellite campus, the Columbia location will exist as an extension of GCA’s West Columbia campus at 3833 Leaphart Road. In grade 6, students will be able to automatically transfer to GCA’s West Columbia campus or the Irmo campus located at 617 Koon Road for grades 6-12.
Students, parents, staff, leadership, and special guests were present to celebrate the announcement. Dignitaries included representatives from the South Carolina Department of Education and more.
“This expansion marks an incredible milestone for Gray Collegiate Academy as we bring our commitment to academic excellence to even more students,” said Principal Dr. Brian Newsome. “We are excited to offer families in Columbia the same high-quality education and accelerated program focus that has defined our success, while maintaining the strong sense of community that makes our school unique. Gray will serve over 2,200 students in grades K-12 next year at our campuses in West Columbia, Irmo, and Columbia.”
The Columbia campus will open for students in August of 2026 in a three story nearly 60,000 square foot building that is undergoing a complete renovation. This will be GCA’s first foray into the elementary setting. GCA’s model is centered around honors-level courses and dual enrollment offerings. The accelerated program model at the elementary school is geared towards preparing students for the rigor required in honors-level and dual enrollment courses.
GCA’s elementary school students will follow the same school week model that is used at GCA’s middle and high schools. Students will attend school for a full day Monday-Thursday. On Friday mornings, in-person, synchronous, and asynchronous learning takes place. Teachers schedule one-on-one or small group sessions with their students for enrichment and intensive intervention purposes. Teachers also conduct synchronous sessions with students. Students not participating in-person or synchronously are working asynchronously at home.
The Columbia campus will offer a fee based after-school program Monday-Thursday until 6:00 p.m.. Students will have the opportunity to participate in supervised recreation, academic enrichment with a focus on reading and mathematics, sports, arts and more, on a weekly basis. The school is exploring childcare options on Fridays due to the interest from parents in the new elementary school.
“At GCA, we believe that an excellent education has the power to change lives, and we have witnessed its impact firsthand through the success of our graduates,” said Gray’s Assistant Principal Ms. Casey Hallman. “It’s an honor to extend this opportunity to more students across the Midlands, equipping them with the skills and confidence they need to excel in college and beyond.”
With every grade-level expansion GCA has seen improved student performance on standardized assessments which is evidenced by the school’s improved report card rating over the past 5 years to “Excellent”.
Applications for the West Columbia, Irmo, and Columbia campuses are available in the front office at the West Columbia or Irmo locations or online at https://www.graycollegiateacademy.org/admissions.
GCA will be hosting informational sessions about the Columbia campus for prospective families at Midlands Technical College ~ Northeast Campus (151 Powell Rd Columbia, SC 29203) on the following dates:
- March 24 at 12:00 p.m.
- April 1 at 12:00 p.m.
- April 21 at 12:00 p.m.
- May 6 at 12:00 p.m.
- May 13 at 12:00 p.m.
GCA will also host an informational session at North Point Community Church (132 Beckett Lane Columbia, SC 29223) on the following date:
- April 15 @ 12:00 p.m.
To sign up for a session, email [email protected].
Interested candidates can access more information about job opportunities here: https://www.graycollegiateacademy.org/careers.