Our District is helping all students develop the World Class Skills of the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate by….
….providing excellent learning environments recently illustrated with the renovated Boiling Springs High School Freshman Academy, which opened in August, 2020. In addition, this fall, all elementary schools in our district will be comprised of grades K-5 with the completion of the renovation of the former Boiling Springs Intermediate School to become Sugar Ridge Elementary and we will have a better balance of students at our middle schools with the addition of a new wing at Rainbow Lake Middle School.
…responding to the challenges of Covid-19 by providing families a Return-to-Learn plan in 2020-2021 that included the option of a face-to-face as well as a hybrid and virtual model. In addition, teachers worked collaboratively to create flexible learning plans that allowed student choice and provided impactful engagement and instruction in any setting whether face-to face, full distance-remote learning, or a hybrid combination.
….providing outstanding professional development for our teachers including our fourth annual “Design in Five” conference, third annual “Sustaining the Work of TLTs” conference, instructional coaches on every campus, in-person opportunities in our District and at our local colleges, and multiple online opportunities. To grow the leadership capacity in our school district, we implemented the D2 LEADs Academy to provide relevant leadership learning opportunities to 24 D2 educators who aspire to become school and district-level administrators. This past summer, approximately 50 teachers graduated from USC Upstate with a Master’s in Applied Learning and Instruction, a District-funded opportunity made possible by D2’s collaboration with USC Upstate! This coming year, the District will once again provide the opportunity for teachers to earn their first Master’s Degree by offering this opportunity to 2 more cohorts of teachers (50 teachers) while 23 teachers work to complete their courses toward a second Master’s Degree (at a reduced cost).
….the collaboration of our teachers and staff with parents and students in ongoing Response to Intervention (RtI) discussions to meet individual learning needs of struggling students. Much of this is accomplished through our Teaching and Learning Teams’ (TLTs) approach to regularly using data to revise our instructional practices.
….achievement results on state and national high-stakes tests that have continually put us in the top ten districts in South Carolina and above the national average. Many students leave us with multiple hours of dual or AP credit already earned including a number who have been awarded an Associate’s degree through the Spartanburg County Early College High School, a collaborative effort of all seven Spartanburg school districts.
….offering outstanding fine arts and athletic programs in band, orchestra, chorus, drama, art and over 24 different sports teams including everything from football to fishing.
….our Career and Technology Education (CATE) program headlined by Swofford Career Center, a collaborative effort with Spartanburg One, that offers 15 career majors.
….our growing work with students in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) activities and competitive teams. All three middle schools have two Lego Robotics competition teams each, and our integration of project-based learning opportunities span from kindergarten to high school classrooms. This past year, our district sponsored a high school Lego Robotics team!
….our students’ use of the 1:1 computer technology we have provided for the past eight years from grades 3-12. During the 2020-21 school year, students in grade 2 were also provided with a 1:1 device to use at school. Chromebooks are provided for students in grades 6-12 and iPads for elementary students.
….our constant reinforcement of and opportunities for students to demonstrate the soft skills employers, including us, desire from staff.
Lance Radford, Superintendent