3613 Old Lamplighter Rd
Columbia, SC 29206

FLE is awesome. The teachers and admin really care for the students and making sure each one gets the attention they need!

Dent has two magnet programs in addition to the local catchment area students. The TLC (The Learning Collaborative) is one of the oldest magnet programs in the district and continues to have accelerated programs for top academic students based on standardized test scores, grades, and an interview process. Two Academies is the other magnet program which is a single-gender program that enables male and females students to each have a customized, research-based learning environment.Principal Ashford has been an administrator at Dent for over 13 years (as of 2025), and understands the needs of the highly diverse community in this area. She maintains a positive, safe educational environment that is inclusive for all types of students. The school also takes 504 accommodations very seriously in my experience.What could be better is teacher retention (a few classes were taught by remote teachers) and more emphasis on appropriate magnet leadership, which has changed several times in the past five years.

I wanted to leave a painfully honest review for others to see, especially since their Google Reviews appear to be turned off for some reason. I would not recommend that any parent enroll their child in this school. This high school is one of the most disgraceful in the district, and it’s filled with misbehaving students that teachers and administrators struggle to manage. As an alum, I can confidently say that bullying is a serious issue there. I had many classmates who made rude comments about almost anything, and simply reporting them to an adult was not enough to stop their behavior. I also witnessed a few teachers and staff members bullying and gossiping about students who were just trying to get through school and graduate, which is extremely unprofessional. Another important concern is that some adults there show clear bias and treat certain students unfairly. Unfortunately, if your child is not in the magnet program, they may not receive the same quality of education, as a significant portion of funding and resources appears to go toward Horizon students. Please consider other options when choosing a high school to ensure your child is in a safer and more supportive environment.