For the 2022-2023 school year, Spartanburg School District 7’s Board of Trustees, staff, students, parents, business leaders and community members stand firm in their commitment to providing a high-quality education for all students. Our schools are not just brick and mortar, they are filled with students and staff who make our school community special. With our mission to inspire and equip in mind, Spartanburg School District 7 continues the tradition of excellence that is known statewide and is ready to prepare students for an ever-changing, global and complex world.
We continued to focus on four key area that we will carry forward as multi-year initiatives: student and staff well-being; individualized, data-driven learning through i-Ready; the implementation of instructional framework to ensure quality instruction at all levels of our system; and leveled literacy intervention which provides daily, intensive, small group instruction to supplement classroom teaching. Our District Seven family embraces these focus areas with a shared sense of hope, determination, resilience, and heart that enables us to fulfill our mission of inspiring and equipping students for meaningful lives of leadership and service as world citizens.
During the 2022-2023 school year, Spartanburg School District Seven once again earned district-level accreditation from Cognia, a global accrediting agency. Spartanburg High School earned the distinction of a full century of continuous accreditation. District Seven schools successfully completed the five-year accreditation engagement review process through Cognia. We also launched the “I Belong in 7” initiative, a yearly tribute highlighting staff, students and families who are part of our district family and make it a wonderful place to learn, work and grow. District Seven is a community that embraces every individual, every ability, every dream, every background, and every perspective, where all are welcomed and supported, and encouraged to discover and develop their unique interests and abilities. This approach to education is strengthened by our work with local organizations such as the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM), the Northside Initiative, the Highland Group, the City of Spartanburg, and One Spartanburg, and on a national level with the Strive Together Network and the League of Innovative Schools. These partnerships are a key component to bettering the quality of life for our students, their families and our broader community.
This school year, the district took several important steps to enhance safety protocols. This included training with local law enforcement and first responders and implementing a new portable security screening system and related procedures that enhance security for our students.
We also welcomed 4K students into all our elementary schools as we completed the expansion our 4K program. This process began two years ago to increase enrollment, strengthen the alignment between 4K and 5K, and raise awareness about the importance of early childhood education by integrating 4K classes into our elementary schools. The focus on 4K is a priority within District Seven as we seek to inspire hope, boost engagement, and support the well-being of every child. We know educating the whole child is paramount in this competitive 21st century.
Our flagship Spartanburg High School strives to ensure each student is college and career ready. The graduation rate remains above the state and national average and students performed above the state and national average on the SAT. Our graduates earned more than $19.6 million in scholarships; earned National Merit, Palmetto Fellows and Hope scholarships; and eleven graduates received an AP Capstone Diploma. Numerous other programs also earned national recognition, such as our Future City, our Envirothon, and Cyber Patriots teams. With consistently positive student outcomes, Spartanburg High School was ranked, again this year, as one of the nation’s best high schools by U. S. News & World Report.
In the spring of 2023, Spartanburg School District Seven became the first school district in South Carolina to be awarded licensing to produce the full Broadway version of Disney's Frozen. We were selected in a nationwide competition to be among one high school from each state in the U. S. for the first-time release of Frozen rights at the high school level. The competition’s theme, "Love is an Open Door," prioritized diverse and inclusive approaches to K-12 theater productions and District Seven’s production included nearly 300 students from across all elementary, middle and high schools district-wide. District Seven’s music education program was also honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) foundation for outstanding commitment to music education. This distinction is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all.
Spartanburg School District Seven looks forward to the 2023-2024 school year, ready to lead with excellence among districts in the Southeast as we affirm our commitment to giving students a competitive edge through exceptional instruction and world-class learning facilities. We thank our teachers, students, parents, and community for their active involvement and support as we continue to nurture positive changes that will drive future success.
