Long Time Hilton Head Educator to Lead Marshview Collegiate

Pinnacle Charter Academies will once again expand opportunities for high school students in South Carolina to have a choice as to the kind of education they want when Marshview Collegiate Academy opens its doors for the 2025-26 academic year.

Marshview Collegiate Academy (MCA) will serve the Lowcountry area of South Carolina with a planned location in Hardeeville, near the Beaufort and Jasper County lines. When fully operational, MCA will serve no more than 900 students in any academic year. Once enrollment numbers hit that mark, a blind lottery will be instituted to fill open enrollment spots each year from among an applicant waiting list.

To begin the work of laying the foundation for Marshview Collegiate Academy, Pinnacle Charter Academies has hired longtime educator Katherine “Kit” Carson to serve as the Project Manager for the school. Her role will continue in an administrative capacity once the school opens its doors to serve students.

“I come from family of educators,” Carson said. “My grandmother, my mother, my father, my stepfather all taught high school or college. My grandfather worked his way from stock boy at Sears, Roebuck and Co. to Vice President.”

Born in Atlanta, Carson grew up in the Baltimore area, attending Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, Md., where she played on the girls’ soccer team. She went on to play soccer at the University of Arkansas, earning All-SEC honors as a senior in 1993, the Razorbacks’ first season in the conference.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Arkansas in 1995 and, after relocating to South Carolina, earned her Master of Education degree from USC in 2009.

She began her teaching career that same year, working with fifth grade boys at Hilton Head Island Elementary. In 2016 she became the Spanish Dual Language Teacher at HHI Elementary, teaching Spanish, Math and Science, a role she stayed in until accepting the position to build Marshview Collegiate Academy.

During her time at Hilton Head Island Elementary she earned her Elementary Education Certification as well as International Baccalaureate, Gifted and Talented and Read to Succeed endorsements.

She was named the Hilton Head Island Elementary Teacher of the Year for the 2017-18 school year.

Outside the classroom, she became a mentor for other teachers, completing a rigorous training program to support new teachers at the elementary school level. She also served on multiple teacher evaluation committees.

In addition to her work in the classroom, Carson was also the coach for the Hilton Head Island High School girls’ soccer team from 2019. She has also coached the Tormenta Football Club (2018-22), was co-Director of the FCA Week of Champions in 2015 and 2016 and served on the FCA Board of Directors from 2014-16.

Carson has two children, daughter Austin Ray and son Dean.

Marshview Collegiate Academy (MCA), will be located in Hardeeville, S.C., and will open for the 2025-26 school year.  In a small, safe, setting that is citizenship and family centered, Marshview Collegiate Academy serves students who seek rigorous curriculum with high academic standards and elite athletics. Students have the advantage of earning up to two years of college credit and/or completing a career readiness certification program while still in high school. MCA serves students in grades 9-12 using an honors curriculum in 9th and 10 grades with a dual enrollment curriculum in 11th and 12th grades.

Learn more about MCA by visiting our website at marshviewcollegiate.org and by following us on social media on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.