COASTAL OBSERVER

By state law, all Ginny Haynes needs to do is give Waccamaw Middle School students 20 minutes to eat lunch.

State law doesn’t say the principal of Palmetto’s Finest middles school needs to let students outside, have a school store operated by its parent-teacher organization, play loud pop music or provide board and card games when the heat index of 104 degrees makes it too hot to go outside.

“It doesn’t say any of that, but that’s where they feel happy,” Haynes said. “You work hard, play hard, right? That’s what Fridays are for us.”

Waccamaw Middle was named Palmetto’s Finest in April. The award hasn’t changed the school, but it has confirmed that academic achievement can’t be separated from the school’s culture. 

“I thought I was just going to middle school. I didn’t know I was going to the finest middle school in South Carolina,” said Robert Young, 12, who just started the seventh grade.

“I had no idea that this was like the best school in the state,” said Ava Grey, 12, whose family moved to Pawleys Island from Nashville this summer.

The school was one of 30 that applied for Palmetto’s Finest awards in four categories last September. The 22-page application included data on student achievement, instructional programs, professional learning communities and school culture.

It was the second time Haynes had applied for the award.

You can’t have a high-performing school with little-to-no culture, she said.

“When they feel that, they want to come back. When they want to come back, then they learn the content. When they learn the content, they want to impress and please,” she said. “So they do well for themselves, for their parents, their community, their teachers. It all goes hand in hand.”

She became principal in 2021. The following school year Haynes initiated changes that included a cell phone ban, locker requirements and Club Fridays.

Students can choose a club where they get to spend 30 minutes each Friday. There are roughly 30 clubs, such as friendship bracelet club and 3D printing club, hosted by faculty and staff at the school.

“It really does give our students an opportunity to find like-minded people,” Haynes said.

Haynes was in the auditorium last Friday leading the dance club in stretches and exercises to introduce them to basic dance movements.

Olivia Ellis, 12, who just started the seventh grade, said she felt confident after her first Club Friday with Haynes.

“It made my confidence go up because I know I’m a dancer, and it makes me feel good that I knew how to do all that,” Olivia said.

She agreed that Club Fridays is part of the school’s culture. “It’s pretty cool that we can do more than educating. We can have fun as well,” she said.

“She really gets our minds set for happiness,” said Annie Nichols, 13, an eighth grader. 

Annie was about to head to English class right after drills wrapped up. 

“That just really got the energy out of me,” she said.

The students get the chance to find commonalities with faculty and staff members, too, Haynes said.

“We want every child to have a trusted adult here that they feel a connection with,” she said.

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Creating a positive school environment is just as important as academics, Haynes said.

“That’s also what’s built into Palmetto’s Finest. It’s not just that we’re slamming academics. You’ve got to experience that culture here,” she said.

Simply reminding students, faculty and staff that Waccamaw Middle is considered the best of its kind in the state is positive reinforcement, she said.

“When you start to hear that so much and you start to really believe that, then you perform that way as well,” Haynes said.

Not much has changed since being named Palmetto’s Finest, Haynes said. It’s a matter of maintaining the work she and her team is already doing.

“Why change a good thing?” Haynes said.

Giving students, faculty and staff a voice in what happens in the school has also had a positive effect on climate, she said. Haynes has two advisory boards; one made up of students, The Tribe, and the other is made of department chairs and leadership, the Warrior Board.

Through The Tribe, Haynes learned that a big complaint among boy students was that there were no partitions between the urinals in the bathrooms.

“Guess what got installed this summer?” Haynes said. “It’s little things like that. The students feel like they have a voice and they can help make changes and make it better.”

She also holds full days in December and May when employees can drop in to share feedback on things that the school should keep, enhance or change.

“We’re always refining,” she said.

Waccamaw Middle received an overall “excellent” rating on its state-issued report card for a third consecutive year in 2025.

Waccamaw Middle had never been as high of a performing school as it has in the last three consecutive years, Haynes said. She credits passionate teachers, happy students and a supportive community that “pours into” the school.

“Our clientele hasn’t changed. So what has changed? The expectation, the leadership, the teachers, the drive, the same vision,” Haynes said.

This year, 85 percent of seventh graders at Waccamaw Middle meet or exceed English expectations, according to SCReady data released this month. Exactly 75 percent of seventh grade students meet or exceed math expectations.

In eighth grade, 84.4 percent of students meet or exceed English standards. There were 82.7 percent who did the same in math.

Those results were well above the district and state averages.

Although the school is Palmetto’s Finest, Haynes thinks of winning the award the way an NFL team views winning the Super Bowl.

“They can celebrate for like a little bit after that. But then they got a whole new year, whole new set of players, a whole new schedule,” she said. “That’s how we’re looking at it.”

With scores and climate, Haynes said she is confident the school will continue its streak.

“We are on track to continue to be the best traditional middle school in the state again for the third year in a row,” she said.