Fort Mill School District (FMSD) remained one of the fastest growing school districts, per capita, in the state during the 2022-2023 school year. This trend is projected to continue as people continue to move to our thriving area. FMSD is the largest 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 are proud to have greatly expanded 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 second 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. We are extremely proud of our 96.6% graduation rate. 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 two deserve special recognition. Over $44 million dollars in scholarships were awarded to our high school graduates. Reflective of the caliber and enthusiasm of our teachers in the district, we are proud that we have celebrated having back to back South Carolina Teacher of the Year finalists. Ms. Mandy DeMeio, literacy specialist at Riverview Elementary, was a finalist for 2024 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Throughout the year, our district and many of our individual schools were recognized for various achievements. The FMSD was ranked as the best in the state by the Niche rankings. Gold Hill Elementary was named a 2022 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. Doby’s Bridge Elementary was named a Blue Ribbon Lighthouse School. Springfield Elementary was named a National PLC Model School. We were proud of our multiple state championship sports teams and our award winning band and JROTC programs.
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
