School Colors - Purple & gold

Mascot - Gold Wave

Since taking occupancy in 1998, Dacusville Middle School has since continued to strive to meet the needs of the community and its middle school students. Under the leadership of Mr. Marion Lawson (1998-2000), the school moved from a traditional six period day to a seven period day in order to better meet the educational needs of our students. Dacusville Middle School was under the direction of Mrs. Ellen Smith from 2000-2009. She began her career at Dacusville Junior High School in 1976. Under Mrs. Smith's leadership, the school remained accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and was recognized as a Red Carpet School in 2002-2003 by the State Department of Education for its customer service. Since 2000, Dacusville Middle School has also received both Gold and Silver Awards for student achievement based on student test scores. Mr. Andy Hooker, former principal, joined the Dacusville Middle School team in 2009. Under his leadership at DMS, our school saw more growth in student achievement than other schools in Pickens County. Our current principal is Mrs. Wanda Tharpe. She took over the reins at DMS in August 2013. Under her leadership, Dacusville Middle has received multiple Excellent report card ratings from the South Carolina Department of Education including the current 2021-2022 school report card.  She led the development and implementation of the Virtual Core at DMS in 2014 and continues this partnership with VirtualSC.   Most recently, DMS has collaborated with the SCDE's Innovation Department to host a Virtual Core workshop for state educators.  Since 2014, DMS has been continually recognized as a leading school for innovative practices in Pickens County, and throughout the state of South Carolina.

Demographics
Dacusville Middle School serves a rural community located in the northeastern corner of Pickens County, SC. Our facility is located on a 113-acre campus. The school has multiple computer labs, 3 science labs, 1 gym, a 250-seat cafeteria, media center, band room and 29 permanent classrooms. The campus also includes a walking trail, butterfly garden and a bird sanctuary. We serve grades 6 - 8 with an approximate enrollment of 290 students. Our students come to us primarily from Dacusville Elementary School. Approximately one-sixth of our enrollment is attending DMS on school choice. Our students are zoned to attend Pickens High School when they leave us after 8th grade.

Our students receive multiple high school credits before leaving us for high school, many students earning as many as 6-8 Carnegie units. Every student is provided with one-to-one technology for their use during the school year.