• East Cooper Center for Advanced Studies

  • Jeff BlankenshipPrincipal: Mr. Jeff Blankenship
    Address: 900 Warrior Way
    City: Mount Pleasant, SC 29466
    Phone: (843) 856-5800
    Website: https://www.ccsdschools.com/eastcoopercas
    Email: jeffrey_blankenship@charleston.k12.sc.us 
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eastcoopercas
    2020-2021 SIC Report

    The Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) was designed to bridge the gap between high school and college, providing technical skills and training beyond the high school level. The 3-story, 125,000 SF academic building features administration areas, science, and computer labs, abundant classroom spaces for programs in cosmetology, biomedical science, film, multi-media and visual arts, health science, engineering, horticulture, and EMS technology. Additional facilities include a 6,100 SF automotive technology building, a greenhouse, and an equipment storage building.

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    • Leadership

    • Jeff Blankenship Charleston County School District (CCSD) is excited to announce the selection of Jeff Blankenship as the principal of the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS) at Wando High School. In this role, Blankenship will drive the development, planning, preparation, and execution of the CAS program east of the Cooper. Blankenship has served as an associate principal of Wando for the last two years.

      As principal of Wando’s CAS, Blankenship will spearhead the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of the CAS, ensuring alignment of the CAS’s development with the district’s strategic plan.

      Blankenship will be responsible for the creation and management of a master schedule which will serve Lucy Beckham High School and Wando, as well as all communication, public relations, and development of relationships with post-secondary and industry partners.

      Additionally, he will develop programs of study, recruit and hire highly- qualified staff, and develop professional development for middle and high guidance counselors within the Constituent District 1 and 2 zones.

      Blankenship will work to implement work-based learning opportunities, integrate common skills currently in high demand into programming, and establish educational, administrative, and career counseling services at the center.

      He will also create and manage the CAS’s budget, coordinate all transportation logistics with feeder schools, facilitate CTE Center Accreditation, and oversee the safety and security of all students and staff on campus. 

      Before his appointment as associate principal of Wando in 2017, Blankenship served as assistant principal at Wando for seven years.

      “Jeff will be entering the CAS with almost 20 years of teaching and administrative educational experience, including direct supervision of the Career and Technology Education department throughout Wando and the Center for Advanced Studies,” said CTE Executive Director Rich Gordon. “His knowledge, skills, and abilities, combined with his technical and tactical competence, will ensure that future generations of CAS graduates will be college and career ready in the high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand jobs of the 21st-century global economy.”

      For more information contact the Office of Strategy and Communications at (843) 937-6303.