State Superintendent Salutes District 7
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| SC Superintendent Molly Spearman at Cleveland Academy |
For the woman in charge of the education agency that handles nearly half the state budget, Molly Spearman makes the job of SC State Superintendent look easy. In Spartanburg on Tuesday, January, 26 she spent the day touring District 7 with Dr. Russell Booker, and capped off her visit as the featured speaker at Spartanburg's Downtown Rotary Club. Spearman told Rotary members, "I am so proud of the effort of the Spartanburg community in coming together to support and promote public education. Educators cannot do it alone during the regular school day. The Spartanburg community has realized that and rallied around their local public education systems and the results are very evident. I am excited to bring the story of your success to other areas of the state and hope that Spartanburg can continue to be a role model in leading South Carolina forward."
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Superintendent Spearman Tours the District with Dr. Booker
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School Board Unanimously Approves
Referendum Resolution
During the meeting of the District 7 School Board on Tuesday, January 5, District 7 Trustees unanimously approved a bond referendum resolution, which will give voters in the District an opportunity to vote Tuesday, March 15, 2016 on a bond resolution for a Capital Improvement Plan. The recommendations in the-plan target facilities in the District that have outlived their life span or are in need of renovation.
To ensure members of the D7 community have a clear understanding of the plan and the process leading to the referendum, the District 7 website has been expanded to include an open letter to the community from Dr. Booker and a list of frequently asked questions. For
more information on the proposed Capital Improvement
Plan, including a video,
visit our
website
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A Super Celebration Set For 4 District 7 Alumni
District 7 will applaud four hometown heroes on Friday, February 5 when we celebrate former NFL players Steve Fuller (top left), Stephen Davis (top right), Howard Williams (lower left) and Landon Cohen (bottom right). In partnership with the National Football League and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Super Bowl, the NFL is presenting a gold Wilson football to the more than 3,000 former players who were on an active Super Bowl roster. Four of those players are proud products of District 7.
The "Golden Football" celebration will take place at Spartanburg High on the afternoon of February 5, as students and staff honor the accomplishments of Fuller, Davis, Williams and Cohen in a school-wide assembly. "In addition to honoring these gentlemen who've contributed so much to our community and so much to the game of football," said Principal Jeff Stevens, "this is a pretty awesome way to kick off the Super Bowl weekend."
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SHS Alumn Justin Fox a Harvard Jr.
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Spartanburg High School alum Justin Fox is on the fast track to figuring out his future. As a junior at Harvard, he's immersed himself in exploring a number of career options, one of which recently brought him back home to Spartanburg. "I reached out to Dr. Booker and asked if I could shadow him for the day," said Fox. "I have tremendous regard for the teachers and administrators who inspired me as a student, so I thought it would be interesting to get a birds' eye view of the public school system. Dr. Booker was kind enough to let me follow in his footsteps for about 8 hours and the only thing I can say is the man should be wearing roller skates! I was floored by the demands on a Superintendent's time, by the weighty decisions that rest in his hands, and yet, equally impressed by the grace with which Dr. Booker handles it all."
Fox said his time in the District was extremely helpful and deepened his appreciation for the education he received here. "I've come to the realization that my education (from Spartanburg High School) is on par with that of any of my peers at Harvard. I was well prepared for college and while I credit myself for taking high school seriously, I was fortunate to have so many mentors who believed in me."
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MLK Events Inspire Community, Creativity
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| Congratulations to Carver's Jeremy Brant for his 1st Place Poster |
As active participants in Spartanburg's annual MLK Unity Celebration, District 7 students and staff took part in a number of events this month to honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. From the downtown Unity Walk, to the fabulous performance of the Sounds of Diversity Choir at the Memorial Auditorium and a number of winning entries in the countywide poster contest for students, "The D7 family," said Dr. Russell Booker, "takes great pride in promoting the ideals of Dr. King. When we celebrate diversity, we celebrate humanity and the call for unity among all people. Every year at this time, I'm especially inspired by the artwork that our children create for the MLK poster contest. Their ideas about peace and equality are so beautifully expressed."
The winners of the 2016 poster contest from District 7 are; Sophie Butehorn, (McCracken Middle School), Charlie Chea (Carver), Jordan Jackson (Carver) and first place winner Jeremy Brant (Carver).
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SC and District Salute School Board Members
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Left to right, Rick Gray, Meg Clayton, Clay Mahaffey, Sharon Porter, Sanders Lee, Julie Lonon, Andy Hayes, Vernon Beatty and Ernest White
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January is National School Board Appreciation Month and a chance to say thank you to those men and women in our community who carve out countless hours to oversee the governance of Spartanburg School District 7. This year the School Board welcomes two new members, Meg Clayton and Clay Mahaffey. "With the combined service of all of our Trustees," said Dr. Russell Booker, "this Board has nearly a century of service to the District. Their leadership and their commitment to innovation have advanced the distinctions of our District in so many ways.
While we're pleased to join other Districts throughout the country in recognizing our Board during the month of January, they truly warrant our appreciation all year-round."
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Make-Up Days on the Calendar
Monday, February 15
Friday, March 11
Due to the missed school days on Jan. 22 and Jan. 25, as a result of snow and ice, students will attend school on Monday, Feb. 15 and Friday March 11. These two days were built into the District calendar as potential make-up days for inclement weather.
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Out and About
in the District!
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District Announces Spring Musical
May 26-29, 2016
Put on your blue suede shoes and pull out your calendar to save the date for this year's spring musical. This annual production celebrates a long tradition of fine arts in the District and will feature the talents of students from all of our schools.
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District Unveils New
Mission, Vision and Values Statement
Thanks to a collaborative community-wide process and months of conversation with a wide range of stakeholders (teachers, parents, administrators, students, local leaders and Board Members) District 7 is now promoting its new Mission, Vision and Values Statement. Praising the effort, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Terry Pruitt said, "These statements truly reflect our culture as a school community and speak volumes about our collective dedication to what really matters in this District - and that's the education of the whole child. If you look at the new Profile of the South Carolina Graduate (below) it echoes what we believe to be true, we are preparing students to live productive and meaningful lives."
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Cleveland Academy Hits A High Note
Congratulations to Barbara Wilson, who is a music teacher at The Cleveland Academy of Leadership. Barbara wrote an original song entitled "I Wanna Be a Leader" and created a school-wide music video that has been professionally recorded. The release date for the video is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 3pm in the school library.
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Barbara Wilson and Some of Her Student Singers
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After submitting the song to the Franklin Covey Foundation, Mrs. Wilson and her 4
th
grade classes were invited to perform the song at the 2015-2016 Leader In Me Symposium being held at the Marriott in Spartanburg on February 16-19.
A copy of the music video will be available in our next edition of 7Headlines.
The community is invited to attend the video release celebration on February 11, as this endeavor capitalizes the talents of our teachers and students in Spartanburg 7.
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Pine St. Dedicates New Playground
The Pine Street School Foundation, Pine Street School PTO, and Spartanburg County School District 7 celebrated the opening of the new Pine Street playground with a ribbon cutting and dedication on Sunday, January 24, 2016. Just days after the big snow storm hit the area, there was no stopping the Pine St. family from the ceremonial ribbon cutting. Parents, teachers and students all took part and even enjoyed a little hot chocolate on the side.
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We Don't Play Around - Come Rain, or Shine, Sleet or Snow the Dedication Goes On!
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Check out the new academic calendar
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