H. E. McCracken Middle School, a school of choice for both arts-integration and STEAM, sits in the southernmost region of the beautiful South Carolina Lowcountry, just west of Hilton Head Island. We are a part of the Beaufort County School District, which covers the Port Royal Sound area south to the Georgia border. The town of Bluffton, as well as the surrounding area, has seen tremendous growth in the past five years, which is reflected in our ever-changing student enrollment and population. H. E. McCracken Middle School is named after Henry Emmett McCracken, who was a former educator, principal, and superintendent of the Beaufort County School District. Our enrollment for 2022-23 school year has settled around 894 students in grades 6-8. The student population is robust, with an increasingly diverse population. The Poverty Index at H. E. McCracken Middle School is a relatively modest 29.4%, with 24.9% of our students receiving Free Lunch and 3.14% receiving Reduced Lunch. We are a young ABC certified school, and since our initial application we have felt the national trend of having many staff changes. We have had three different principals, four different assistant principals, eleven different fine arts teachers, and other changes in teaching staff members as well. And of course, we faced the challenges that came with the COVID pandemic. Yet through all of this, we are still focused on becoming a strong ABC certified school. At H. E. McCracken Middle School, we are committed to meet the emotional and academic needs of our students, and we believe the arts play a vital role in that constant endeavor. We are extremely proud that despite these trying times, this school year, H. E. McCracken Middle School has been identified as an “Excellent” school from the South Carolina State Department of Education.