Pickens County takes pride in its excellent countywide public school system that includes four high schools, two junior high schools, three middle schools, fifteen elementary schools, a district career center, an alternative school, and a comprehensive child development program.

The School District of Pickens County is the state's eighth largest, with an instructional staff of 1,126 certified staff members. Approximately four of five staff members - 79% - have advanced degrees. The average salary for a teacher in the District is $35,399 a year, and the average teacher's experience is 14 years.

The student population for the most recent school year was just over 15,000 students grades K-12, with student/teacher ratios ranging from 25 to 1 in kindergarten to 20 to 1 for grades 7-12.

The average expenditure per student in the county is $4,431.59, with 29.3 percent of public school funding coming from local sources and the balance from state and federal funding.

All schools in the district are accredited by the South Carolina Department of Education and by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

In addition to public education, Pickens County offers a number of private schools and academies scattered throughout the county.

Higher education, in an almost limitless range of interests, is close at hand for graduates. The Upstate is rich in colleges and universities. Two such institutions are in Pickens County, and a third, serving Pickens County students, is just across the county line near Pendleton.

Clemson University

Clemson University, the state's second-largest higher education facility, offers 73 undergraduate and 71 graduate programs in five different colleges, including Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; Architecture, Arts and Humanities; Business and Public Affairs; Health, Education and Human Development; and Engineering and Science.

A gift to the state from Thomas Green Clemson, son-in-law of John C. Calhoun, the school opened in 1889 and has since sprawled beyond the bounds of the original site on the Calhoun plantation. Nationally prominent research centers in the areas of agriculture, engineering, physical and life sciences, architecture, forestry and textiles share the vast 1,400-acre campus with such lovely features as the park-like horticultural gardens and the Calhoun Mansion.

Today, Clemson University has a total enrollment of more than 16,000 students, representing 47 states and 67 foreign countries. The average SAT score of incoming freshman last year was 1140, and 31 percent of Clemson freshmen ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school classes. The average student/teacher ratio is 18 to 1.

Southern Wesleyan University

Southern Wesleyan College in Central is a four-year liberal arts college with far-reaching programs. While many of its 450 full-time students study a regular curriculum on the tree-shaded hilltop campus, others earn their degrees far afield through its LEAP program (Leadership Education for Adult Professionals), offered at points throughout the state.

Located in Central, five miles northeast of Clemson, Southern Wesleyan was founded in 1906. Its name was changed from Central Wesleyan to Southern Wesleyan in 1994.

The school boasts a staff of 40 faculty members, 65 percent of whom hold doctoral degrees, and offers degrees in a wide variety of areas.

Sponsored by the Wesleyan Church, Southern Wesleyan also serves the community with concerts and cultural programs.

Tri-County Technical College

Tri-County Technical College, serving Pickens, Oconee and Anderson Counties, lies just across the line in Anderson County. Site of the state's Applied Microelectronics Center for Innovation, Tri-County is a leader in electronics technology and a major resource for business and industry. Along with many degree and certificate programs, the college also offers a variety of continuing education classes and the state's Special Schools program, providing no-cost pre-employment training for new and expanding industries.

Founded in 1962 to assist the state in providing a pool of well-trained employees for industry, Tri-County Tech has grown from a first-year enrollment of fewer than 300 students to be the fourth largest college in the South Carolina system of technical colleges, with more than 17,000 full and part-time students enrolled in various programs in 1999.

The school offers 26 major fields of study, a college transfer program and an aggressive developmental education program for adults throughout a three-county area.

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