Southwest Charlotte STEM Academy is a tuition-free, public charter school nestled in the Steele Creek area of Charlotte, North Carolina, which is the fastest-growing area in Mecklenburg County. Principal Shekeria Barnes opened the school in 2019 with an enrollment of 510 students. The school opened with grades K-5 and is quickly growing into North Carolina’s “premier STEM School,” providing all students with an interactive science, technology, engineering, and math-centered approach to learning.
SCSA promotes high academic achievement by increasing student engagement through a workshop model that encourages and empowers students to take ownership of their own learning. Additionally, the school has been able to showcase many of its unique value propositions, such as its STEM Lab and STEM Program, to families who attend parent events and school tours. The school counts highly on the interaction of parents in their child’s education, as seen in its annual STEM Fair. For parents that need additional services, the school also offers bus transportation as well as a Before and After School Care Program and much more.
Prior to its first year of operation, SCSA partnered with Educare Solutions to generate awareness of the school to target families via digital and traditional strategies that include SCSA’s own website, yard signs, postcards, social media content, listings, newsletters, SEO and much more. The school also adopted the Educare Solutions’ “Enroll” software to accurately and consistently communicate with new families. SCSA became one of the first schools in the region to have electronic registration and enrollment features that in 2022 many schools still do not have available.
Following many successful years, SCSA’s student retention rate is 99.3% and currently serves grades K-8. With excellent 5-Star reviews on Google and Facebook, the school continues to bring its benefits to not only the Steele Creek community, but also to the many families beyond it.
Educare Solutions is an enrollment company that specializes in promoting charter schools to their communities for the purpose of increasing enrollment, awareness, interest, and desire of the school’s value propositions to its target audience. It uses various traditional and digital platforms and promotions to ensure reduced churn, effective parent communication, and maximum enrollment.
