Original Research by School Decision on Bridgewater Academy Charter
Bridgewater Academy Charter is a regular public charter school in Myrtle Beach, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. The campus is located at 191 River Landing Boulevard, within the Horry 01 district. It is a small school, with an enrollment that places it among the smallest for its grade band in the area. The student body is roughly split between white students and Black students, with a Hispanic enrollment of a moderate share and a very small share of students who identify as two or more races. Asian, American Indian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students are not represented in the enrollment. Just over a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is lower than many public schools in the region. Data on the share of students with an individualized education program or who are English learners was not available.
State testing data for the most recent school year was suppressed for every grade and subject, meaning the state did not release proficiency rates publicly. South Carolina suppresses results when the number of students tested in a group is very small. In each grade, the number of students tested in math, English language arts, and science ranged from around a dozen to under 20 students. Because the student count in each tested group is small, the state does not report the proficiency rate, and no meaningful picture of academic performance can be drawn from state assessments for this school. Year-to-year trend data was available, but it reflected only the most recent year and the prior period, and the state also changed its cut scores for both English language arts and science during that period, which makes direct comparisons unreliable. A parent evaluating academic outcomes at Bridgewater Academy Charter will find that the main state metrics provide no usable signal. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate applies.
Myrtle Beach is a resort city along the Grand Strand that combines a permanent residential population with a tourism economy that draws millions of visitors annually. The city has a heavily seasonal texture, with hotels, restaurants, golf courses, amusement parks, and beachfront commercial strips shaping daily life. The Market Common District, redeveloped from the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, provides an urban town center with open space and recreation fields. The metropolitan area is among the fastest-growing in the country. The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk and the beachfront area are the civic and pedestrian core, while much of the broader city is oriented around U.S. Route 17 and automobile travel. The Intracoastal Waterway historically constrained development to the coastal strip, but inland growth has been dramatic in recent years.
Housing values in the area around the school are modestly above the state average, and rents track similarly. The local unemployment rate is a bit higher than the national figure. The district itself, Horry 01, showed no notable recent changes in available public records.
For a family considering Bridgewater Academy Charter, the school offers a small, charter setting in a fast-growing coastal city. The student body is economically less diverse than the surrounding area by income, though racially it is fairly balanced between white and Black students. The most significant gap in the available information is the lack of accessible state testing data; any family that weighs academic proficiency as a primary factor will need to seek direct information from the school, such as its own assessments, classroom observations, or conversations with current parents, to form a picture of student learning. Beyond that, the school's size and charter structure may appeal to families seeking a smaller environment with a defined grade span that does not extend into high school.
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