SC senior’s tearful plea with school board goes viral. She just wants to go back to school

Cierra Patterson already bought her prom dress. But she doesn’t know if she’ll be able to wear it.

A video of the Lower Richland High School senior went viral on TikTok after she pleaded with the Richland 1 school board during the public comment period at a March 12 meeting. The TikTok, which has amassed over 2 million views, 300,000 likes and 17,000 comments, shows a tearful Patterson telling the board her story.

Patterson, 17, said she was an honors student at Lower Richland with a nearly 4.0 grade point average. She was part of the varsity cheer squad and had enlisted in the South Carolina National Guard. She had plans to attend basic training over the summer before attending Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina in the spring of 2025, where she plans to study criminal justice and and forensic psychology.

The State was unable to contact Patterson. But she told the school board that over her four years at Lower Richland, she had no disciplinary actions or referrals. But on Jan. 22, Patterson got involved in a fight, she told the board.

“As I was trying to break up an altercation due to no admin nor security being present, I was then attacked by a girl and we began to have a physical altercation. Then I was attacked by her friend,” Patterson said.

Patterson was involved in a “major disruption of the educational environment,” Patterson said, a violation of the district’s Code of Conduct, a level three infraction, considered a “major offense.”

As a result of the fight, Patterson was referred to the district’s hearing board, and then Olympia Learning Center, which offers a behavioral program.

But Olympia does not offer all of the classes she was taking, she told the board — only two of seven. After an appeal, the district assigned Patterson to homebound services, but she discovered that program didn’t offer her classes either.

“As an alternative school, Olympia Learning Center cannot offer all the courses that a regular high school would offer,” a district spokesperson said.

Patterson said she has missed almost two months of her education because of the fight, and explained that she is the only senior in this situation. She needs the classes to graduate, she said. And because of National Guard basic training, she doesn’t have time for summer school.

“I am not failing and I know I will be able to catch up with the time I have left,” Patterson said. “I will do a behavior contract or whatever is needed for me to go back to school.”

School board chair Aaron Bishop said the district has a Code of Conduct that outlines expectations for student behavior.

The district cannot discuss disciplinary matters, Bishop said. They are confidential and protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the federal law that governs access to educational records.

Bishop declined to comment further.

Cheryl Harris. another board member, also declined to comment, noting that disciplinary appeals can sometimes reach the school board.

“I’ve paid my senior dues for graduation, I paid for my prom dress already as well, I’ve worked so hard to be in the top 30 (percent) of my class, kept A’s and B’s every quarter to make sure I continue to excel,” Patterson said.

Patterson apologized to the board for her role in the fight, telling them she wished it never happened.

“My education, life and career are now all on the line,” Patterson said, wiping away tears. “Graduation is in two months and three weeks, and prom is in one month and three weeks. I really hope to attend both. I just want to go back to school to catch up.”