Homewood Elementary School staff members celebrate their Red Carpet School award.

Homewood Elementary School is among 66 South Carolina schools honored with Red Carpet awards to recognize their success at creating family-friendly school environments and providing excellent customer service. Winning schools receive red carpets with the state seal to display in their lobbies, and they maintain their recognition status for a three-year period. Homewood Elementary is the only district school to earn the award this year, although 11 awards have been presented in recent years.

Nearly 280 schools applied for the award last fall. Applicants provided written details about their family-friendly philosophies and environments, along with the methods used to self-evaluate those efforts. They also were required to include copies of their schools’ communication plans.

Schools that passed the written application phase were then screened by independent judges who rated how telephone callers and visitors were treated. Judges did not identify themselves during telephone calls or site visits, and site visits were not announced in advance.

Schools were judged on a variety of factors, including the exterior and interior appearance of the campus, the way people were treated in person and over the telephone, and the information and programs available for families and visitors. 

For more information about Red Carpet awards, visit http://ed.sc.gov.