DI’s Corrine King kicks off 5th year as Blessed Sacrament principal

Blessed Sacrament Catholic School Principal and Daniel Island resident Corinne King returned to work with a record enrollment, lofty goals, and a few patron saints on her side.

 

When King was named principal in 2021, the private West Ashley school had 246 students in preschool through eighth grade. This year, enrollment is projected at 404 students. King attributes this growth to small class sizes, strong academic initiatives, a vibrant visual and performing arts program, and campus safety.

 

“We’re averaging 50 to 60 new students per year over the past few years,” she said. “We’ve had such an influx of students who are either new to Charleston or are coming to us from the public sector or other private schools.”

 

King said more parents are looking for a faith-based education for their children and emphasized Blessed Sacrament welcomes all families regardless of religious affiliation. “It is a place where non-Catholic students are very much welcomed and fully integrated into the school,” she said.

 

The mission of Blessed Sacrament School is to engage the mind, challenge the body and enlighten the soul of each pupil. King explained that it is accomplished through academic rigor, physical education and athletics, and faith formation. 

 

As a Christian school, students make a commitment to church, family, the community and those less fortunate than themselves. All students participate in various outreach projects and acts of service throughout the school year.  

 

“Each class has a patron saint and as a class they decide what their service project to the community will be related to the saint,” she said, adding children are also encouraged to bring food donations to Mass each week. 

 

On Aug. 9, the school held a ribbon cutting for the Harper Drolet “Courage, Strength, and Hope” Playground in memory of the student who died from cancer at age 11 in 2011.

 

“It’s a beautiful new playground for our children,” said King. “It’s the second big green space project that adds more landscaping and open play space to the campus.”

 

Next up for King is an ambitious $12 million capital campaign to build a parish life center that will strengthen and support Blessed Sacrament’s expanding community and ministries. The state-of-the-art facility will serve as the heart of the school, featuring a gymnasium, a performing arts center, a kitchen for dinners and receptions, and three separate meeting rooms. 

 

“Blessed Sacrament, the school, is rapidly growing, and so is the parish,” said King. “We have a tremendous amount of social outreach, but we only have one small multipurpose space that doesn’t meet the needs of all the ministries.”

 

Blessed Sacrament is a feeder school to Bishop England High School on Daniel Island, and King said most of their graduating eighth graders will attend BE. 

 

“We’ve worked hard to partner more closely with Bishop England. Our students can play sports at BE and share in their campus ministries. We do a lot of different things so our middle school students get familiar with their campus.”

 

King grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she lived until 2021, when she moved to Daniel Island with her husband, Mike, and their two sons, Michael, a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, and Tommy, a senior at Bishop England.

 

“We loved the open green space and the parks and how thoughtfully planned it was, and Mike knew in his retirement that he was ready to hit the golf course,” King said.

 

They also appreciated the safe environment that gave the boys more freedom and independence than they would have had in New York City. The Kings made fast friends in the community through their schools, sports, and Parkside neighborhood.

 

“While we left behind a big family and group of friends, we now have the best group of friends that we consider family. We’re really happy how quickly we feel rooted here on Daniel Island.”