Chapter 6: Resilience | 2022-23

RESILIENCE

COVER DETAILS

HILL, 2021 WARDLAW INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEACHER AWARD FOR INDIVIDUAL GROWTH

Wellford Academy of Science and Technology third grade teacher Claire Hill began her teaching career in 2020-21, which would turn out to be the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Hill, who was already using Continuous Improvement strategies in her classroom, adapted to her students learning virtually.

“I think part of it was I was a first-year teacher and so I was able to be nimble,” Hill said. “We were using PDSA (plan, do, study, act) board so the students could see their improvements as a group so we used those so they could see how they were growing.”

Hill explained that Continuous Improvement allows the students to set a goal, meet in small groups and when they don’t meet the goal, to understand what they, or the teacher, could do differently next time.

“I’ll listen to their feedback and if they need more math practice problems, that’s what we’ll do,” Hill said. “If a video would help them, we incorporate a video. It’s important for students to understand what makes sense to them because we all learn differently. When teachers can have flexibility and take time to listen and incorporate student feedback into their plans, it works.”

Claire epitomizes the resilience of all our teachers during, and post, COVID. SAM salutes your dedication.

noun: 1.the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness

2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity

CLAIRE

DEDICATION

Since our inception, State Rep. Rita Allison has been a strong, steady voice and advocate of our work.

When her tenure as State Representative ends in December, Rita will leave her footprints on the educational landscape of our state. Her leadership and tenacity have served us all as she reached across party lines for the betterment of all South Carolina students. Rita’s leadership record includes service as the Chair of the House Education Committee and Public Works Committees. Her two stints in the House spanning 28 years includes service on reform committees, educational accountability, tax reform, higher education reform, domestic violence reform and child abuse reform. Rita served as a trustee on the Spartanburg School District 5 School Board before her service in the House.

Rita has received many honors – too many to name – including the Order of the Palmetto, the highest civilian award given in South Carolina and most recently received the Neville Holcombe Distinguished Citizenship Award, OneSpartanburg Inc.’s highest honor.

As we ponder Rita’s service to our community and state, we think about her personal signature that she uses to close letters and emails, “Because I Care.” Rita is an encourager, a faithful supporter and true public servant who has given her time, her energy, and talents to increase educational achievement for all South Carolina students. Her work will be remembered for decades to come, and we are proud to dedicate “Resilience” to our friend.

“BECAUSE I CARE.”

Rita Allison Dedication

CONTENTS

SAM Chapter 6 is the seventh annual report of the Spartanburg Academic Movement. It serves to update the Spartanburg community, our action partners, and funders on progress made across the seven stages of learning we monitor as well as initiatives underway in support of each. More extensive information and resources about the work of SAM, our strategic initiatives, and digital copies of all previous annual reports can be found on our website www.learnwithsam.org.

» Dear Community 4

» SAM’s Previous Chapters 5

» Board of Directors 6

» Our Staff 7

» The Journey Begins 8

» Vision, Mission, and Values 9

» County-Wide Context 10

» National Engagement 11

» Towards System Transformation 12

» Blue Meridian Partners 13

» Center For Resilient Schools And Communities (CRSC) 14

» Outcome Areas 16

» Kindergarten Readiness 17

» Early Grades Reading 18

» Four Schools Projects 19

» Middle Grades Math 20

» Out-of-School Time Collaborative 21

» High School Graduation 22

» Start Smart 23

» Post-Secondary Enrollment 24

» Post-Secondary Persistence 25

» Post-Secondary Completion 26

» Post-Secondary Work 27

» Accelerating The Vision 28

» Wardlaw Continuous Improvement 30

» The Impact of SAM 31

DEAR COMMUNITY

The Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) salutes the resilience of Spartanburg’s educators, school leaders, families, and students as they have collectively worked to maintain engagement, commitment, and motivation throughout and following the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s Chapter 6: Resilience celebrates the more than 3,400 Spartanburg County teachers like Wellford Academy of Science and Technology third grade teacher Claire Hill who has shown steadfast resilience in the face of unprecedented change.

Craig D. Haydamack Board Chair

Claire entered her first year of teaching in the fall of 2020 at the onset of the pandemic. Like all our teachers, she would shift her teaching strategies to reach students in and outside of the classroom using numerous means. As Claire altered her teaching methods and as her students transitioned to new modes of learning, she implemented Continuous Improvement methodologies to assess her students’ progress while creating Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) problem-solving models to determine if students were progressing. As a result, Claire’s students demonstrated tremendous progress in third grade reading proficiency, a measure of future academic and life success. SAM looks forward to building on its Continuous Improvement successes across Spartanburg County schools, and nonprofits through our Wardlaw Institute for Continuous Improvement.

SAM has been working for more than a decade to uncover factors that negatively impact a child’s chances for academic success, and we acknowledge the social and emotional impact the pandemic continues to have on our students, families, educators, and communities. Poverty and race have long been linked to high rates of trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), factors that can reduce a child’s ability to succeed in school. The pandemic further underscored this truth. As a result, SAM launched its Center for Resilient Schools and Communities in early 2021.

Russell W. Booker, Ph.D. Executive Director

In recent months, the CRSC has been working to establish and build supports and systems that increase school success, particularly in areas where educational disparities persist. The CRSC centers student and family wellbeing while collaborating and building stronger networks with our education and community partners. It will engage our children and families as active participants in building strong and resilient schools and neighborhoods.

We ask you to join the Movement as we build community cohesion and connectedness while advancing our vision of economic mobility anchored in academic achievement… countywide… cradle to career.

Spartanburg Academic Movement

SAM Chapter 6

SAM’S PREVIOUS CHAPTERS

Over the years, the story of the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) has been shared in book format: from the Preface, our first annual report, through our most recent, Chapter 5: Impact, where we highlighted the impact stories from our students, parents, teachers, school administrators and nonprofit program providers across Spartanburg County.

We have decided to call this report RESILIENCE, reflecting on the capacity our students, teachers and partners have to recover from difficulties particularly over the past three years as they have faced challenges completely out of their control. The entirety of SAM’s story can be found within the full text of our chapters available online: www.learnwithsam.org.

CHAPTER 5 IMPACT

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board sets the long-term vision for the Movement, defines its mission, and develops its strategic plan. It recruits partners, assists in raising funds to sustain operations, guides the work of the staff, and plays the central role in sustaining county-wide leadership commitment to the Movement.

» CRAIG D. HAYDAMACK // CHAIR Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Milliken & Company

» DR. DARRYL OWINGS // VICE-CHAIR Superintendent, Spartanburg School District 6

» DR. INGO ANGERMEIER // TREASURER Founder, Patient Strategies International

» B. COLE ALVERSON // ASSISTANT TREASURER Spartanburg County Administrator

» DR. KIRA L. REAVES // SECRETARY Chief Human Resources Officer, Spartanburg School District 7

» WILLIAM BARNET, III CEO, Barnet Development

» KATHY DUNLEAVY Community Liaison, Meeting Street Academy

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

» Bryan Boroughs Vice President & General Counsel, Institute for Child Success

» Gregory Castillo Student, USC Upstate

» J. Derham Cole, Jr. Vice President for System Affairs, The University of South Carolina

» Breana Dogan Student, Wofford College

» Leslie Lang Associate Pastor for Young Adults and Missions, First Presbyterian Church-Spartanburg

» Wes Lehrer

Spartanburg Market President, Truist

» Patrena Mims Executive Director, The Bethlehem Center

» SHAUNTÉ EVANS CEO, Spartanburg Housing Authority

» PHIL FEISAL President, Spartanburg Regional Medical Center

» DR. RANDALL GARY Superintendent, Spartanburg District 5

» TROY HANNA President & CEO, The Spartanburg County Foundation

» DR. BENNIE HARRIS Chancellor, USC Upstate

» DR. ARACELI HERNANDEZ-LAROCHE USC Upstate Director, South Carolina Centro Latino Alianza Spartanburg

» SUSU JOHNSON, EMERITA MEMBER Johnson Development Associates

» AVI LAWRENCE President, Contec, Inc.

» DR. G. MICHAEL MIKOTA President, Spartanburg Community College

» DR. NAYEF H. SAMHAT President, Wofford College

» CURT SIDDEN CEO, American Credit Acceptance

» ALLEN SMITH President, Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce

» R. TODD STEPHENS County Librarian, Spartanburg County Public Libraries

» PAIGE STEPHENSON President & CEO, United Way of the Piedmont

» DR. JOHN STOCKWELL Retired Executive Director, Founding Member

» MOLLY TALBOT-METZ President & CEO, Mary Black Foundation

Spartanburg Academic Movement

SAM Chapter 6

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

In 2008, the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce (now OneSpartanburg, Inc.) assembled the Task Force on College Degree Attainment to examine the connection between economic development and educational achievement. At that time, 19.2 percent of adults ages 25 and older held bachelor’s degrees with the state average at 22.7 percent and the national average at 27 percent. Regional with dynamic economies boasted rates above 40 percent. Spartanburg County was not in the game.

Leading the list of Task Force recommendations was the 40/30 Challenge to double the number of adult bachelor’s degree holders to 40 percent by 2030. IN 2010, the Spartanburg County Foundation established and funded “The College Hub” to address this single benchmark. The College Hub began its work by encouraging more young people to go onto college, and adults to return to complete degrees.

Though the “40/30 Challenge” remained the north star, the College Hub Board of Directors began to recognize that the challenge could not be realized unless all points on the academic continuum were advancing concurrently. In 2012, The College Hub merged with another nonprofit organization, the Children’s Service Alliance,” serving as a network engaging early childhood providers and agencies. The combined boards of both nonprofits recognized that each had been working at extreme ends of the same education continuum. They also recognized that advancing academic achievement across the entire learning continuum was required if the “40/30 Challenge” was to be realized.

A MOVEMENT IS FORMED

A DECADE OF IMPACT

The Spartanburg Academic Movement launched as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) in 2013, building upon the two predecessor non-profit enterprises in Spartanburg County

The very long and complex cradle-throughcareer academic achievement spectrum, and interventions must be aligned, targeted and shared collaboratively across Spartanburg County. This recognition led to a merger and rebranding of the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM).

A critical impetus to the merger was the establishment and early success of a collaborative action movement launched a few years earlier in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, soon to be replicated in several cities and counties across the United States. The movement was calls StriveTogether and partnerships shared the tagline “every child…cradle to career.”

The name, the tagline and the collaborative action strategies of StriveTogether aligned with the scope and sense of purpose shared by Spartanburg County’s two merging boards. In 2013, SAM launched as a StriveTogether partner.

For nearly a decade, the Spartanburg Academic Movement has been building a cradle to career network of supports throughout Spartanburg County.

TOWARDS SYSTEMS TRANSFORMATION –THE NEXT TEN YEARS

In 2018, SAM achieved StriveTogether’s designations of Proof Point and Systems Change. Our work has aligned school districts, community organizations, policy makers, and business and industry around a cradle to career vision.

Systems Transformation is the highest designation possible. It recognizes communities who are creating lasting change across four pillars of work: shared community vision, evidencebased decision making, collaborative action and investment and sustainability. This work is rigorously measured and must meet the highest possible standards of change. SAM continues to evolve recognizing that achieving systems transformation will require deeper levels of engagement as we build a strong educational ecosystem for Spartanburg’s children. We look forward to the next 10 years!

VISION, MISSION, AND VALUES

For nearly a decade, The Spartanburg Academic Movement has sharpened its focus considerably to continue work in our five Collaborative Action Network (CAN) areas of kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, eighth grade math, high school graduation rates and post-secondary education. SAM has formed the Postsecondary Educational Attainment Steering Committee to guide the next phase of work and community investment and mobilize the county around five outcomes.

SAM’s vision, mission and values are clear and direct our work to ensure Spartanburg County’s children reach academic and life success.

R.E.A.C.H.

RESULTS

We believe in using local research and data to drive community action for continuous improvement.

EQUITY

We believe equal opportunity is a basic right and view all aspects of our work through an equity lens.

ADVOCACY

We believe in amplifying the voice for public education while shepherding equitable policies on behalf of all children.

COLLABORATION

We believe education is a shared responsibility of the community with families as our most important partners.

HUMANITY

We believe in the dignity and self-worth of every individual and leading with a humble and compassionate heart.

OUR VISION

ECONOMIC MOBILITY ANCHORED IN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT… COUNTYWIDE…CRADLE THROUGH CAREER

OUR MISSION

WE ENSURE SPARTANBURG COUNTY’S CHILDREN AND YOUTH REACH ACADEMIC AND LIFE SUCCESS BY CONVENING PARTNERS, ALIGNING RESOURCES AND DRIVING EQUITY.

OUR VALUES

REACH - TO PICK UP, DRAW TO, EXTEND; A CONTINUOUS STRETCH

DISTRICT 1 5,100 students

DISTRICT 2 11,700 students

DISTRICT 3 2,600 students

DISTRICT 4 2,900 students

DISTRICT 5 10,300 students

DISTRICT 6 11,600 students

DISTRICT 7 7,400 students

Inman, Landrum, Campobello

Boiling Springs, Chesnee

Cowpens, Pacolet

Woodruff

Duncan, Lyman, Reidville, Wellford

Fairforest, Moore, Pauline, Roebuck

Spartanburg City, central/eastside

A NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT

THE STRIVETOGETHER CRADLE TO CAREER NETWORK

SAM is a member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career network, a national movement impacting the lives of 13.7 million youth and counting. Network partners are aligned in pursuit of the StriveTogether national impact model with a clear purpose:

Helping every child succeed, from cradle to career, regardless of race, zip code, or circumstance.

YOUTH DEMOGRAPHICS

8+ MILLION YOUTH OF COLOR

This distribution shows the race of youth from age groups for which network members submitted disaggregated race data.

TOWARDS SYSTEM TRANSFORMATION

In 2018, SAM achieved StriveTogether’s designations of Proof Point and Systems Change. Work has aligned school districts, community organizations, policy makers, and business and industry around a cradle to career vision.

Systems Transformation is the highest designation. It recognizes communities who are creating lasting change across four pillars of work: shared community vision, evidence-based decision making, collaborative action, and investment and sustainability. This work is rigorously measured and must meet the highest possible standards of change. SAM continues to evolve recognizing that achieving systems transformation will require deeper levels of engagement as we build a strong educational ecosystem for Spartanburg’s children. We look forward to the next 10 years!

PROOF POINT

is a designation for partnerships that meet the systems change/ transformation benchmarks and are seeing more equitable outcomes.

Spartanburg Academic Movement SAM Chapter 16

BLUE MERIDIAN PARTNERS

Blue Meridian Partners is a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to the problems that limit economic and social mobility for America’s young people and families in poverty. The Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) is proud to be a partner in this effort. Blue Meridian’s Place Matters portfolio aims to improve mobility in communities across the US through investments both in place-based partnerships and in supports to catalyze their success.

Blue Meridian knows that solutions to our most complex issues exist, but even the most promising strategies can’t reach far enough nor fast enough without significant, long-term investment. Blue Meridian shares SAM’s belief in the importance of directing capital to scaling solutions that target drivers of poverty from cradle through career. Blue Meridian operates with an “investor mindset but measures success in terms of social impact.”

Since 2021, Blue Meridian has invested over $6.3 million in SAM. Spartanburg Academic Movement has utilized this catalytic investment to advance the following:

» Aiding an Equitable Recovery: Providing over $2 million in pandemic response supports and subgrants for out of school time providers, blended learning, tutoring, mentoring, childcare and family supports, faith community groups, public libraries, school districts, and scholarships.

» Supporting Neighborhoods: SAM is directly supporting the Highland and Northside neighborhood transformation planning with a focus on creating youth and family supports through a multigenerational planning effort.

» Strengthening Spartanburg’s Data and Policy Capacity: SAM supported the recent launch of Strategic Spartanburg (formerly the Spartanburg Community Indicators Project) as a nonprofit community data lab to continue providing vital comprehensive community progression data for Spartanburg County.

» Strengthening our Organization: SAM is growing its capacity to support the community as a backbone organization while ensuring long-term sustainability of its strategic development plan.

» Creating an Aligned Comprehensive Investment Plan: SAM has partnered with The Bridgespan Group to assist in developing a shared community plan that aligns and builds on existing planning efforts throughout Spartanburg County. The core focus of the planning centers economic mobility for families and students in Spartanburg and will support cradle to career community alignment.

Blue Meridian Partners has committed to more than a dozen place-based partnerships – shown here – from California to the Carolinas, including Spartanburg, South Carolina.

OAKLAND, CA FRESNO, CA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

MINNEAPOLIS, MN

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

CENTER FOR RESILIENT SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES (CRSC)

BUILDING RESILIENT COMMUNITIES – A PLACE BASED APPROACH

SAM has long partnered with schools and colleges to improve academic performance and degree attainment in Spartanburg County. While this work continues, data makes it clear that the community in which a child lives is a large predictor of a child’s academic success and therefore must be a foundational part of our work. A child’s community dictates the resources that are available to him or her, the level of violence and traumas to which the child might be exposed, the number of safe spaces he or she has during out of school time, the amount of quality supervision and teaching that he or she receives, etc.

To ensure children in our communities have equal opportunity to succeed, SAM formed its Center for Resilient Schools and Communities (CRSC) and is partnering with neighborhoods on a holistic approach to building “capital” for children and families in communities where children are not succeeding at the same rate as in peer neighborhoods.

CENTER FOR RESILIENT SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES

The CRSC’s neighborhood-level work focuses on five key objectives and multiple associated activities that change communities and ultimately support post-secondary academic achievement.

» Objective 1: Strengthening social, economic, and health related protective factors for children and families from prenatal to age 5 to facilitate early learning.

» Objective 2: Creating a seamless and highly coordinated system that provides access to comprehensive services through upstream systems change.

» Objective 3: Providing high quality academics and academic enrichment opportunities from pre-kindergarten through high school graduation.

» Objective 4: Providing whole-child and family wellbeing services in communities and schools.

» Objective 5: Engendering a college-going culture by ensuring college awareness, affordability, enrollment, and persistence to graduation and career.

PLACE-BASED PARTNERSHIPS

Place-based partnerships are a community-driven, outcomes-focused approach. They position place as the nexus of progress, designing and implementing solutions that are tailored to a particular community. Leaders come together across sectors to identify shared goals and hold themselves accountable to achieve impact. These partnerships attend to pressing needs, while building on individual and community assets to create cradle-to-career opportunity pathways.

Spartanburg Academic Movement

EVIDENCE-BASED TRAINING

The Center for Resilient Schools and Communities, under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Parker has trained more than 650 school administrators and educators in priority traumafocused areas to serve Spartanburg County students.

Designed for school administrators, teachers, and school staff, the goal of this training is to establish a base of knowledge about the impact of trauma on learning and provide participants with an introduction to trauma-informed schools and trauma-sensitive practices.

The Center trains educators on the following themes: Introduction to Restorative Practices in the Classroom, Trauma Sensitive Schools and MTSS, Building a Trauma-Sensitive Classroom, Behavioral Management Approaches: Punitive to Restorative, Trauma-Sensitive Practices in the Elementary School Classroom, Trauma-Sensitive Practices in the Secondary School Classroom, and Behaviors and Needs in the Classroom.

SAMS’s Center for Resilient Schools and Communities also provides training for a wide range of professionals in the form of workshops and group training.

OUTCOME AREAS

The Spartanburg Academic Movement monitors academic achievement at various points along the cradle to career continuum. These data points are supported by research showing that they are key contributors to a child’s success. These outcome areas are utilized to inform our continuous improvement efforts and to help Spartanburg achieve its cradle to career vision for children, youth, and families.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact student success across Spartanburg County. There has been a notable change in student progress as you will see reflected in the data in the upcoming section of this chapter. Our partnerships are as vital as ever before as we strive for continuous improvement along the seven outcomes areas.

Spartanburg Academic Movement

SAM Chapter 6

KINDERGARTEN READINESS

OUR VISION:

Results of the first county-wide administration of the Early Development Instrument (EDI) were released in May 2018, revealing that overall "Readiness" was 47%. Since then, SAM and community partners have been working on multiple fronts: expanding developmental screenings and interventions; promoting "The Basics;" and working in specific communities where data indicated increased vulnerabilities for early learners.

The overall analysis includes deeper calculation using the developmental domain and subdomain data. These data are used to create targeted interventions to improve overall readiness.

In late summer, SAM received initial data from the 2020 administration of the EDI.

All of our children should be developmentally ready for success when entering kindergarten

OUR VISION: All children are proficient In early grade reading skills by the end of third grade.

Interventions: “The Four Schools Project” and embedding Continuous Improvement methodology across schools, grade levels and classrooms countywide. Equity target: Improve reading proficiency by 3rd grade in the schools with the highest levels of poverty.

Monitoring progress: Countywide data, based on year-end statewide assessments and not administered in 2020 due to the “COVID-pause,” still serves as our baseline for monitoring progress.

proficient by race

FOUR SCHOOLS PROJECTS

Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) launched The Four Schools Project in 2018 to focus resources and support to address the unique factors influencing success for children living in poverty. Two superintendents, former Spartanburg County District 7 Superintendent Russell Booker and Spartanburg County District 6 Superintendent Darryl Owings, called on SAM to drive strategies to help educators in the county’s highest poverty schools: Cleveland Academy of Leadership, Mary H. Wright Elementary School, Lone Oak Elementary School and Jesse Bobo Elementary School.

When the Four Schools Project began, those schools were collectively at a 14.66 percent proficiency rate for third grade reading. AT that time, SAM set a goal to improve early grades reading proficiency to 30 percent by 2021.

In researching success models working in other communities’ facing similar challenges, empowering teachers and students with Continuous Improvement strategies was used as a strategy to increase student achievement. Using SAM’s strong partnerships in the schools, early training in the CI methodology, also referred to as rapid PDSA (plan, do, study, act) cycles began over the spring and summer of 2018 in the four schools.

In October 2019, SC READY assessments showed that the number of students in the four schools that had met or exceeded proficiency were climbing. COVID hit in 2020, and there was no statewide testing.

SAM announced during the Wardlaw Institute of Continuous Improvement Conference in October 2022 that the Four Schools collectively exceeded their goal of 30 percent reading proficiency as 32.36 percent of students are third grade proficient readers as benchmarked by SC READY testing.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 23 YEARS, CLEVELAND ACADEMY OF LEADERSHIP IS NO LONGER CONSIDERED A LOW PERFORMING SCHOOL.

Cleveland Academy Principal Marquice Clark said equity was the paradigm shift the school needed.

“When COVID hit, we thought about ways that we could take advantage of the time we had been given,” Clark said. “It allowed us time to refine our practices and gave us time to bridge to our families.”

Clark said smaller class sizes, resources and a commitment of service has allowed Cleveland students to succeed.

“We’ve had an extraordinary amount of interventions like Americorps that has given us an additional person in the classroom for support so the teacher can focus on teaching,” he said. “They focus on reading, math and attendance support.”

Clark said he’s found that when you provide more to children who need more, you get positive results.

Jesse Bobo Elementary School Principal Catherine Pogue said her staff’s commitment to “passion, people and planning” has driven positive results.

“More than test results, we’ve built relationships and have made it a priority to get to know our students and families as individuals,” Pogue said. “The work is hard, but we’re changing kids’ lives.”

At Jesse Bobo, there is a team of coaches and support staff who dig into test scores and data to provide each student with an individualized plan for instruction and/or intervention. Listening to the coaches talk about each student’s “recipe for success” is similar to watching scientists mix concoctions in a lab.

“We have a collective vision,” said Literacy Coach Allie Thrower. “We’re here for the children and all children matter. We’re focused on equity and standards and the best opportunities for our students.”

Coaches and teachers focus on research-based methods for reading, including understanding how the brain learns to read, and there is a renewed focus on grade-level planning.

“This team is intentionally aligned with PDSAs, and we’ve seen huge growth with SC READY, and we believe it’s because there’s accountability at all levels,” Pogue said. “The students are involved in goal setting and we have test-taking strategies. We believe we’re on the right path and we’ll continue to push so that all students are succeeding.”

MIDDLE GRADES MATH

OUT-OF-SCHOOL TIME COLLABORATIVE

Spartanburg Academic Movement’s Out-of-School Time Collaborative invested more than $80,000 in Spartanburg’s youth in 2022 with plans to expand high-quality, after-school initiatives to Spartanburg School District 7 next year.

Led by Savannah Ray and Meghan Smith, the OST Collaborative has expanded to include 31 partners including Boy Scouts of the Upstate, BRUH Mentor, Citizen Scholars, Girl Scouts Mountains to Midlands, Girls on the Run, HALTER, Mental Fitness Inc. and Spartanburg Science Center. More than 1,000 youth and families were served in 2022.

THE

OST COLLABORATIVE CLOSES PERSISTENT OPPORTUNITY

GAPS

BY IMPROVING, EXPANDING AND SUSTAINING HIGH-QUALITY AFTER-SCHOOL AND SUMMER PROGRAMS FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL AGE YOUTH.

Three measurable goals of the collaborative are to remove barriers to access and participation, improve program quality and increase alignment and support so all youth in grades 6 through 12 have access to high-quality after-school and summer programs and receive the skills and characteristics necessary for success.

In Spring 2022, the OST Collaborative supported the JAG Collab, an after-school initiative for Spartanburg Prep students. Held at the school to eliminate transportation and access barriers, OST partners scheduled activities for students throughout the semester. Feedback has shown that the programs were beneficial to students, and teachers noticed an increase in focus and academic success from participating students.

The OST Collaborative expanded to Carver Middle School in fall 2022 with a similar operational model.

In 2022, OST Collaborative held six trainings with 74 participants.

HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION

OUR VISION: All students will graduate high school on-time, ready for college and career. While our county overall graduation rates remained high, there was a significant drop for students in poverty. While the drop is likely an impact of the pandemic, the underlying reasons will continue to be analyzed. Equity Goal: Reduce the disparity to less than a 4-percentage point difference. It currently stands at 14.6 points.

START SMART

Many students walk across their high school graduation stage with the intention of enrolling in college. They might have already accepted their offer, paid their deposit, and begun daydreaming about how to decorate their dorm room. Yet for many students, when fall rolls around, their chair is empty on their college campus. This phenomenon is known as “Summer Melt.” Students can face a variety of challenges and hurdles completing their enrollment process during the summer months.

NAVIGATING ALL THE STEPS TO COLLEGE ENROLLMENT CAN BE CONFUSING FOR ANY FAMILY.

The path is more difficult for students whose parents have not been to college, or low-income students. One roadblock, like a FAFSA (free application for federal student aid) verification or additional unexpected fees, can be enough to derail a student’s plan, especially when they do not have access to their guidance counselors or trusted adults in the school building.

SAM has identified Summer Melt as a contributing factor to decreased college enrollment. To help combat this “melt” SAM started the Start Smart program in summer of 2020 to support at-risk students during the key summer months. The program pairs trained community volunteers with high school seniors who have been identified by their guidance department and/ or college admissions. These coaches help students overcome barriers to enrollment and navigate the often complicated and confusing waters of postsecondary enrollment. Students and coaches text each other as issues arise.

As an incentive to participating in the program and continuing the necessary steps toward enrollment, students receive $250 toward their book needs upon college enrollment.

THIS PAST YEAR, SAM OFFERED THE START SMART PROGRAM TO STUDENTS FROM BROOME HIGH SCHOOL.

We recruited 26 coaches to work with 33 students. Coaches were able to meet their student at a lunch held on campus to get to know each other and begin discussing their postsecondary plans. This was the first year that coaches were able to meet their students in person due to pandemic restrictions.

Students and coaches have expressed appreciation for being involved in the program. One coach stated that the most rewarding part was “knowing, as coaches, that we played a small part in getting the students to begin their college journey. ‘It takes a village,’ as they say, so it felt good to be a part of that village community.” One student thanked their coach by texting, “thank you for helping me out and reminding me to do this stuff, by the way. I really do appreciate it and needed it a lot. I have ADHD and don’t take medication so it’s hard to remember everything and remind myself, so thank you for being here!”

We hope to expand the Start Smart program to work with even more students and districts as we continue to support the postsecondary attainment of Spartanburg’s students.

POST-SECONDARY ENROLLMENT

OUR VISION: All students are prepared to pursue post-secondary programs of study. SAM tracks post-secondary enrollment through the full first year after a student graduates high school. While post-secondary enrollment trends historically follow an inverse correlation to the economy, the pandemic impact has created an environment for analysis and intervention to re-set these patterns. Our goal remains to improve post-secondary enrollment, persistence and completion rates toward meeting the 40/30 Challenge adopted countywide: increase the number of baccalaureate degrees held by our residents to 40% by the year 2030. Enrollment is where that begins.

POST-SECONDARY PERSISTENCE

VISION:

students enrolled in a post-secondary program will return for their second year of study. National studies have clearly demonstrated that students who re-enroll/persist in their postsecondary programs beyond their first year have the highest likelihood of completing their degrees. Through the National Student Clearinghouse data, SAM can follow persistence rates of Spartanburg County high school graduates. Persistence is a key to meeting the goal of the 40/30 Challenge adopted countywide: increase the number of baccalaureate degrees held by our residents to 40% by the year 2030.

POST-SECONDARY COMPLETION

OUR VISION:

All students enrolled in a post-secondary program will complete their chosen field of study within six years.

Upon review of data and trends for post-secondary completion, SAM’s Board of Directors voted to renew SAM’s strategic focus on the goals and strategies laid out in the Spartanburg County Compact, the document laying forth the imperative to increase the number of residents with baccalaureate degrees. Why? Because the data still hold true. Having a four-year degree improves personal economic security and mobility; and, a community with a well-educated, fouryear degree holding workforce increases the economic security and mobility for all.

SAM has championed the concept that not every post-secondary path or institution fits for every adult building careers skills; but, that some form of post-secondary training is needed for all. With this renewal of emphasis on four year degrees, SAM’s strategic initiatives will hone in on the messages, resources, and opportunities for our county’s high school graduates to reach this key milestone. It remains the essential goal for building individual economic security and mobility; and remains a foundational draw for increased career paths for all.

POST-SECONDARY WORK

The Spartanburg Academic Movement has accelerated its postsecondary education work. Recent investments in SAM and the county’s education efforts have yielded an opportunity to leverage existing work and build a pathway toward a more equitable future, where all Spartanburg residents can access college and meaningful careers by 2030. Building on considerable progress in the K-12 arena, SAM decided to bring additional focus to high-impact postsecondary strategies that will drive the county toward increased postsecondary education attainment.

In early 2022, the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) convened the Postsecondary Education Attainment Task Force, comprised of over two dozen education leaders in Spartanburg County. This group was tasked with guiding the creation of an action plan that builds on the timely and urgent work of OneSpartanburg’s Vision Plan 2.0, bringing together Spartanburg stakeholders to implement scalable solutions that will strengthen education and workforce pathways, including increased postsecondary attainment.

THROUGH THE WORK OF OUR TASKFORCE AND THE VOICES OF OUR COMMUNITY, SAM IS SEEKING TO DO THE FOLLOWING:

» Estimate the extent of the impact of current programs and services in pursuit of the 2030 goal

» Design and facilitate a series of stakeholder conversations and convenings that identify scalable opportunities to strengthen education pathways

» Co-create a community college action plan to accelerate implementation of college attainment and equity goals

» Prepare Spartanburg for potential investments in educational attainment efforts, with a focus on sustainability

On June 30, 2022 SAM convened nearly 80 community and education leaders for a day long session to define success around postsecondary degree attainment and how to craft a joint community action plan to improve outcomes. SAM heard from six students who shared their inspirational – and very different – stories, reminding us of this work’s complexity and importance.

ACCELERATING

WARDLAW CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Spartanburg Academic Movement’s Wardlaw Institute for Continuous Improvement held its inaugural conference on Oct. 19 to celebrate the achievements of schools and educators that have embedded CI science – historically used in manufacturing settings to improve processes.

The Institute is named for John T. Wardlaw, a community leader with a deep understanding of how robust local data can drive positive change. Wardlaw’s family has graciously invested in SAM’s CI work, which allows CI coaches to work with individual teachers and celebrates growth and impact.

National speaker and author Dr. Lee Jenkins gave the keynote address urging teachers to find things they’re already doing to spark joy. Teachers can embed continuous improvement science to improve attendance, decrease discipline referrals and improve student academic performance.

More than 90 Spartanburg and Cherokee County administrators, educators and nonprofit organizations participated in CI breakout sessions during the morning and CI awards were given in the afternoon. This year’s nominees for CI Teacher of the Year for Growth were Teresa Dawkins (Lone Oak Elementary School), Kristy Turner (Mary H Wright Elementary School), Marie Scott (Abner Creek Academy) and Katy Quinn (Jesse Bobo Elementary School).

AWARD WINNERS INCLUDED:

Katy Quinn, Jesse Bobo Elementary School — 2022 CI Teacher of the Year for Growth.

Marie Scott, Abner Creek Elementary School — 2022 CI Teacher of the Year for Impact.

Vanessa Briggs, EP Todd Elementary — 2022 CI Pioneer of the Year award.

Emily Dean, Abner Creek Academy — 2022 CI Coach of the Year Award.

In addition, Fairforest Middle School received the 2022 CI School of the Year for Growth award. Fairforest began using Continuous Improvement in the math department for sixth grades in 2020. Today, CI work has expanded to include all grade levels for math.

JOHN T. WARDLAW INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Cleveland Academy of Leadership earned the 2022 CI School of the Year for Impact. Cleveland began its CI journey during the 2017/18 school year. In 2017, the school had a 6.7 percent proficiency rating for third graders reading at or above grade level. Cleveland now has a 39 percent proficiency rate for third graders reading at or above grade level – surpassing the 30 percent proficiency set for them in 2017.

CHERYL BROADNAX AWARD

This year, SAM presented the Cheryl Broadnax Award for Continuous Improvement to the Four Schools Project. Cheryl Broadnax, StriveTogether’s senior director of district improvement, helped SAM lead the initial training efforts in Spartanburg and allowed SAM to sustain our work and implement the Wardlaw Institute. Cheryl passed away this past year following a courageous battle with colon cancer.

The first Cheryl Broadnax Award for Continuous Improvement Award honored the work of the Four Schools – Mary H Wright Elementary School, Jesse Bobo Elementary School, Lone Oak Elementary School and Cleveland Academy of Leadership — for their collective reading proficiency rates. These four schools, with the highest rates of poverty in the county, were identified by their superintendents as needing interventions to meet state testing benchmarks and student academic achievement.

When the CI work began in 2017, those schools were collectively at a 14.66 percent proficiency rate for third-grade reading. At that time, SAM set a goal for the four schools to reach 30 percent proficiency by 2021 and then COVID hit. Despite challenges, the Four Schools collectively exceeded their goal as 32.36 percent of third graders are proficient readers as benchmarked by SC READY testing.

THE IMPACT OF SAM

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SAM has been at the forefront of addressing equity in our approaches for nearly a decade using data to drive our work to strengthen our community.

Russell Booker Executive Director, Spartanburg Academic Movement

Investing in the Spartanburg Academic Movement is investing in an important source of economic growth... human capital. SAM’s strategic focus on educational attainment and shrinking the achievement gap can help promote the development of an educated and prepared workforce for the future.

Shaunté Evans CEO,

Spartanburg Housing

“Higher levels of academic achievement are crucial for Spartanburg County’s future, driving up all measures of economic & social well-being & driving down all measures of individual & community dysfunction. There correlations are immutable, which is why the work of SAM in supporting academic achievement - cradle through career - is so vitally important.

Dr. John Stockwell

Former Spartanburg Academic Movement Executive Director Community Advocate

learnwithsam.org

learnwithsam.org