Welcome to Charleston Progressive Academy (CPA)! We are a county wide magnet school  that was founded in 1996  by two Charleston County educators, Martelle  Robinson and Harriet Wilder at Archer Elementary . We moved to the Courtenay Building in 2005. Our magnet focus is leadership and fitness. We are CCSD's only Leader in Me School and became accredited as a Leader in Me, Lighthouse School in 2018.                 

    Our students learn the seven habits of effective people which are the same habits and training that 500 Fortune companies implement in their workplace. These habits provide students with the social emotional skills that take them beyond elementary school and last a lifetime.  As a Leader in Me School there are some vital components to our success. They include: teaching leadership skills daily during Morning Meetings, goal setting with students using their data so that they can be accountable for their progress, and providing the opportunity for students to apply for leadership roles/jobs by completing a job application and interviewing. This process gives students real life work experiences on the elementary level that will impact them forever. Students are excited and confident in not only their social abilities, but in their academic abilities as well.               

      The faculty and staff want to remain true to our mission, that we are here to empower our students to believe that they are the leaders of tomorrow. An African Proverb said, “What you help a child to love can be more important than what you help him to learn.”  Students love being leaders at CPA!