and business leaders. Rather than reinventing the foundation, she focused on bringing it to life. “We came up with the tagline of ‘Be the Change.’ We empowered and encouraged all our employees to lead from their position. That was year one when I came in, and each year, we have stayed true to that, and we have added to it,” she explains. This call to action continues to gain momentum, as each year, the district adds another layer.“We have embodied ‘The best is yet to come,’ as we stay on the course of being the change,” Dr. Fowler shares. The most recent addition is, ‘Tell me something good.’ “That has been so powerful,” she adds.“It has caught on and been so contagious. The focus has shifted to looking at the positive things. It’s made it easy for us to celebrate small wins, as all of us are focused on the same thing.” The impact of these efforts is easy to see. Spartanburg Three’s students are performing first in the county in multiple academic areas, and the district consistently ranks in the top ten in multiple grades and content areas across South Carolina. “It is because we are truly living out the mission and vision,” Dr. Fowler says.“It’s been a great thing to watch and to be part of.” SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS The district’s approach to academic and emotional support is purposeful, data driven, and tailored.This is exemplified through Spartanburg Three’s Next Level Learning Conference, a professional learning day designed entirely by the teacher forum. CAO Windy Hodge describes, “Teacher voice goes into creating our professional learning, and it’s designed in a way to meet specific needs of teachers. It’s not a “one size fits all” professional learning day. . Everyone has a choice to learn more about areas they need to grow in.”Teachers take this knowledge directly back to the classroom, bringing fresh strategies to their students the following week. For students, multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) are applied across all grade levels, identifying areas of need, and recognizing where they are excelling. “We celebrate our students’ strengths so that when they encounter areas that are a struggle for them, they have the belief in themselves to overcome that 329 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 12 SPARTANBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT THREE
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