Clover School District (CSD) celebrated a year of milestones in achieving its mission of “preparing each child for a successful, productive and responsible future.”

“Successful” is best documented, of course, by student performance on state assessments. Clover students at all grade levels continued to outperform their counterparts across the Palmetto State. CSD maintained its excellence, posting scores that ranked consistently in the top five in South Carolina on most tests at most grade levels.

Success could also be seen at the individual and program levels, where students achieved a number of “firsts.” Among these, we celebrated Freshman Mallory Greene’s performance at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Mallory is only the second CSD student to compete at the national spelling bee and the first to make it all the way to the quarterfinal round of competition. We also celebrated the Bands of Clover appearance at the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade. We are so proud of the dedication and commitment to hard work that these young musicians have demonstrated to shine an international spotlight on our outstanding music program.

Our nation’s growing economy demands students who can make productive contributions, and students completing courses at the Applied Technology Campus (ATC) are attaining excellence in a wide variety of career and technical skills. Most programs at the ATC culminate with an industry credential. Students in the firefighter program, for example, take the South Carolina Firefighters Exam and can enter the profession upon graduation. Clover’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) students lead the state in the attainment of these credentials. More than 94% of Clover’s students earn a career credential, compared to just 73% of students across South Carolina. 

Every parent strives to ensure that their children become responsible adults. CSD offers several programs to develop this critical skill set in our students. The Leader in Me program, for example, has been adopted by Kinard Elementary, Clover Middle School and Larne Elementary. Leader in Me incorporates the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” into the school day so that students begin practicing leadership habits, including being proactive and putting first things first. Kinard has been a Lighthouse School with Leader in Me since 2016. 

At the high school level, no program better demonstrates responsibility than the Air Force Junior ROTC. Clover High School’s unit is one of the top in the nation, producing two appointments to military academies last year alone. Eighteen cadets attended flight academies during the summer of 2024 and completed their first solo flights at an age when most students are just getting a driver’s license. 

The key to these outstanding student accomplishments is the high-performing staff that creates opportunities and guides students to them. CSD continues to recruit and retain talented educators by offering competitive salaries and employee engagement events and training to overcome a nationwide teacher shortage. In short, we strive to be a “destination district” where educators seek to work.