» 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.