CCSMS 2025-2026 Scholar Application Information
About Charleston Charter School for Math and Science
Charleston Charter School for Math and Science (CCSMS) is a public charter school serving grades 6 to 12. CCSMS was started in 2008 as South Carolina’s first STEM focused middle-high school. Our faculty provides hands-on, experiential learning in a small, supportive environment. Scholars have opportunities to create unique pathways to success in college and careers.
Application for Enrollment for the 2025-2026 School Year
The CCSMS 2025-26 school year application and lottery/waitlist process is separate from the CCSD School Choice process, though the school does fall under Charleston County School District and its policies. The lottery application opened on January 14, 2025, and closed at 5:00pm on February 25, 2025. You are now applying for the waitlist.
The online application is available via our website only; paper applications are available from the school’s main office Monday - Friday, 8:30am - 2:30pm when school is in session. Now that the lottery application is closed, only the waitlist application is available.
Admissions Requirements
CCSMS will admit children who reside in the Charleston County School District* and are entering the 6th through 12th grades (subject to space limitations). There are no tests, tuition, or other barriers to admission.
* Residency will be verified following CCSD’s verification process:
Students finishing the current 2024-25 school year in a CCSD school must submit documents from Categories I & II.
- Additional residency documents will be needed if the above residency documents are not in the name of the parent/guardian due to living with someone else who is the "Head of Household."
- Students finishing the current 2024-25 school year in any non-CCSD school district must submit a notarized Affidavit of Residency, as well as documents from Categories I & II.
Specific details and examples of these documents are found in the CCSD Residency Verification Document Requirements publication.
Application Process
> Siblings of current or past scholars (enrolled for at least 1 year within the last 6 years) must apply for admission through the lottery application to receive priority status; siblings of current or past scholars who apply after the lottery application closes will be waitlisted in the natural order of the waitlist.
> Siblings of scholars who are admitted in the 2025-26 school year will be given priority status.
> A long-form birth certificate and/or legal custody documents for the applying sibling will be required for verification, and for the past scholar as we no longer have those on file.
> Current Categories I & II residency documents (see Requirements)
> Notarized Affidavit of Residency if not finishing the 2024-25 school year in a CCSD school, or living with someone else who is the "Head of Household"
> Most recent report card
> High school transcript if entering 10th-12th grade, or if student has high school credits
> Parent/Guardian driver’s license or legal picture ID
> Long-form birth certificate, marriage certificate, or legal custody documents for applying sibling, past scholar sibling, employee’s child, or original charter committee member’s child
> Optional: national and/or state test scores, 504 plans, IEP documentation, or other miscellaneous documentation the school might need to ensure the scholar’s success
Scholars who are admitted for the grade indicated on their application must pass the previous grade by the end of the current school year. If a scholar fails the previous grade and cannot enter the grade for which the scholar applied, the scholar’s application will go to the end of the waitlist for the repeated grade. For example, if a scholar applies for the 9th grade, is accepted into the 9th grade, and subsequently fails the 8th grade at the end of the current school year, the application will be moved to the end of the 8th grade waitlist.
Parents/Guardians of accepted students are responsible for completing their child’s current school’s withdrawal process before the end of the current school year (submitting their official form, paying outstanding fees, returning materials, etc.). The CCSMS Admissions Office will do the work of obtaining all academic records from that school.