Fort Mill School District (FMSD) remained one of the fastest growing school districts, per capita, in the state during the 2023-2024 school year. This trend is projected to continue as people continue to move to our thriving area. FMSD has the most students among all four York County school districts in spite of being the smallest geographic district in the state, encompassing 53 square miles.
The Fort Mill School District continues to focus on providing an engaging and rigorous education that empowers all of our students to achieve their greatest success. As we challenge and inspire our students to meet and exceed their greatest potential, we are simultaneously creating a better community for all of our citizens. We will continue our work of preparing all students to acquire the world class academic, life, and career skills included in the Profile of the South Carolina Graduate. Our instructional delivery systems and curricular offerings continue to adapt to meet the demands of a rapidly changing environment. We continue to greatly expand the number of Dual Credit and advanced level courses available to our students. We know our students deserve the best opportunities to pursue their passions and we are excited to have added multiple pathways to help them in their journey.
The district’s commitment to advancing the learning of all students continues to permeate school culture. This is seen in our Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), STEAM, and literacy initiatives. A comprehensive MTSS system empowers all students by addressing their academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs through a data-driven process that identifies risk factors. As part of the Read to Succeed Plan, all teachers and administrators are learning and implementing effective reading instructional strategies across the curriculum. Our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) effort includes school-based leadership development, technology and curriculum integration, and community/parent partnerships. FMSD’s digital learning, STEAM, and literacy initiatives positively impact student engagement and ultimately prepare our students for college, career, and citizenship. We are in the third year of our District Strategic Plan and we continue to align resources to meet our lofty goals. One of the data points that we are most proud of is our on-time graduation rate of 95.6%. We also know this is not just a high school outcome. Our entire school system is responsible for this accomplishment.
Individual and student awards were too numerous to mention, but several deserve special recognition. Over $52 million in scholarships were awarded to our high school graduates. All nine of our middle and high schools received an “excellent” report card rating while 8 of our 11 elementary schools also received this highest rating. The Fort Mill School District was the highest rated district in almost all standardized testing categories.
Throughout the year, our district and many of our individual schools were recognized for various achievements. Fort Mill Middle, Gold Hill Middle and River Trail Elementary were all named Blue Ribbon Lighthouse schools. Our school district was named the best in the State by Niche and was rated among the top 2% of districts nationwide. We were proud of our multiple state championship sports teams and our award winning band and JROTC programs. Caryn Scroggs, Assistant Principal at Gold Hill Middle, was named the 2024 South Carolina Middle Level Assistant Principal of the Year.
We are proud of the awards and recognitions we have received during the school year. It is always nice for our hard working teachers, staff and community to receive the recognition they deserve. However, we are most proud of the work our district and community is doing to prepare our students to reach and exceed their dreams.
James N. (Chuck) Epps, Jr., PhD., Superintendent
