Free, Public Charter School Serving Grades K-12

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Sallie B. Howard School of Arts & Science is a free, public charter school founded in 1997 in Wilson, N.C. that serves 1,200 students in grades K-12. Named after the legendary author, educator, playwright and actress Sallie Baldwin Howard, SBHS is dedicated to ensuring that every child – privileged or underprivileged – gets the kind of education that will allow them to become more than they ever thought they would be.

With a performing arts-based curriculum, a study abroad program that has brought hundreds of children to nearly all 7 continents, a culturally diverse faculty and student body, the addition of a high school and a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School Award, Sallie B. Howard School is preparing its students to become 21st century industry leaders both locally and globally.

We were inspired by a woman who gave her entire life of 102 years to teaching low income children to believe they could be more than they thought they could become…and it worked. We embraced her vision as our own and founded the Youth Enrichment Summer Camp in 1989 and the Sallie B. Howard Charter School for the Arts and Education in 1997.

We provide a FREE 3-week study abroad program for middle school students who compete for the chance to travel by submitting one of the 10 best research papers on the country we will visit. These experiences are life changing for the low income students who win the change to travel. They stay with local, host families, they make friends with students meet at the schools we visit, they tour world famous monuments, museums, and cultural sites they could only read about, and they form bonds with new friends and families from across the globe. Most of all they realize they can be more than they ever dreamed they could be.

Our curriculum provides all students the chance to discover and develop their talents in the academic and performing arts through professional training in dance, drama, visual arts, band, chorus, media arts, arts and crafts, photography, science, languages, literature, oratory, debates, math, and much more. Professional training in the performing and visual arts begins through auditions in second grade and continues through grade 8. We are second to none in giving deserving students career training and opportunities they would not otherwise receive.

In August 2020, we opened a high school dedicated to the fine arts and science. This pre-professional program will allow students to train for careers in biotechnology and the performing arts.

We have an international faculty (India, Columbia, Jamaica, Philippines, Mexico, Zimbabwe, US) and a diverse student body (African American, Hispanic, Arabic, Caucasian, Asian) that see themselves as a global community.

We achieved exceptional academic proficiency on state exams for the past two school years and exceeded expected academic growth on state projections for multiple, consecutive school years.

Free, Public Charter School Serving Grades K-12

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