Back to school: Spartanburg County students return to classrooms; new traffic patterns

Seven districts of students and teachers in Spartanburg County head back to school today.

Spartanburg County students are among the last to return to school in the Upstate. Greenville County Schools started on August 8, and Anderson County students returned on August 1.

The Herald-Journal visited several schools on Monday.

7-7:30 - Tyger River Elementary School

Principal Shayne Daugherty met students at the car line in a bright yellow three-piece suit, complete with a top hat, to celebrate the first day at the brand-new Tyger River Elementary School.

Tyger River had no bus or car line issues Monday morning. Since it's a new school, they created a video to show parents how the car line would work.

“Our kids are rolling in now. They're super excited to be here,” Daugherty said.  “We're taking some kids from Duncan and some kids from Lyman. We're all different puzzle pieces, and we're gonna make that masterpiece.”

The 120,000 square foot, 70-classroom state-of-the-art school will start with 500 students. The new school sits on about 40 acres and features space outside each classroom, modern technology and safety features.

The new school has a mascot, Tre, a blue and green terrier.

Tyger River Elementary is one of the new schools built as part of Spartanburg County School District Five’s $295 million bond referendum, which passed in 2021. The district also built a new middle school, Abner Creek Middle School, and a new facility for Wellford Academy.

“We were growing roughly from 200 to 300 students a year. That growth has been consistent over the last decade, but COVID sped things up. During the COVID year, we had the single largest enrollment growth that we've ever experienced in District Five, and that growth continued,” said Director of Public Relations Melissa Robinette. “We knew that we had to do something to accommodate the growth. The bond referendum, luckily, was successful, and we were able to do that.”

This year, the district also shifted away from its intermediate school model, starting the year with eight elementary schools, four middle schools and the high school and freshman academy. Berry Shoals Elementary School, Reidville Elementary School, Beech Springs Middle School, Wellford Academy, and Byrnes High School all saw renovations to accommodate the growth under the referendum.

9:30-10:30 a.m. - Roebuck Elementary School

Roebuck Elementary School is shooting for the stars this school year.

The school kicked off its space-themed year in the car line, where students were greeted by administrators in space suits.

“We have two different novels that the students are studying, kind of as a community building for our school,” Principal Jennifer Faulkner, who is starting her 13th year as principal of Roebuck Elementary. The kindergarten through second grade will be reading “Sadie Sprocket Builds a Rocket” by Sue Fliess, and third through fifth grade will read “A Rover’s Story” by Jasmine Warga.

The books support the school’s English Language Arts goals and STEAM curriculum. Roebuck Elementary is a Congnia-certified STEAM school.

The school is growing, Faulkner said and welcomed about 850 students this morning.

“Our school is so diverse, but it's like a big family,” Faulkner said.

Savannah Nichols’ first-grade class’s story time was themed around this idea. Nichols read “Our Class is a Family” by Shannon Olsen to her students, her ninth class of first graders since starting at Roebuck Elementary.

“I love making family connections. I love watching my children grow academically and socially and just being there away from home,” Nichols said.

Cameron McKennedy was having snack time in the third-grade hall with his new students. This is McKennedy’s first year teaching at Roebuck Elementary and fourth year overall.

“During high school, I had a teaching experience with assistant principal Ashley Brown, and she's been asking me since then, do I want to come back?” McKennedy said. “I had some other opportunities, but after considering, I finally came here, came home, and the people are great. The environment is amazing. There’s no place I’d rather be than Roebuck.”

District Six Chief Communications Officer Cynthia Robinson said the district has had a smooth start to the first day, noting that parents and bus drivers were adjusting well to the new morning routines.

“We’re really looking forward to some great things in our district,” Robinson said. “Our theme for this school year is making a positive impact one student at a time, and that's what we intend to do. Our focus is always children first, and our goal is for children to be college and career-ready, but also that we build positive relationships with our students and let them know that we love them and we care for them. We care about their future and their future success.”

1:30-2 p.m. - Woodruff High School

Kelly Dixon, the forensic science teacher at Woodruff High School, was heading in to teach her Forensic Science B course after lunch. She and Principal Christine Morris said it's a popular lab science option among students.

"It's been so fun to be able to venture into all kinds of sciences," Dixon said of teaching the course. "Chemistry, physics, biology — we do it all in our classroom."

Dixon has been teaching for 10 years and started her fourth year at Woodruff High today. She was recently named the high school's 2024-25 Teacher of the Year.

"It's an absolute honor," Dixon said of the recognition. "I was just shocked. I love everybody here. I mean, we're a huge family over here, so it meant the world to me."

Dixon is a Woodruff High graduate and before she went into teaching, she was a drug chemist for the Greenville County Sheriff's Office.

"I decided to get into teaching because my favorite part of my job was giving tours of the lab, and I realized pretty quickly that was teaching. So I went through the PACE program. I taught at Lauren 55 for a while, and then I came over here, and I've never been happier," Dixon said. "I'm going to be here until I retire."

Principal Morris said the first day had been great.

"We really had everybody in the building, I feel safely. Our buses ran smoothly. Even our studentsdriving on campus (had) no issues there. So, that's always a plus," Morris said. "It's been a great day. Our first discussion with our student body has been the theme. The theme is "Get Ready!" We want our kids to be ready for the unexpected and be ready for post-secondary education and post-secondary life."

One thing the school as a whole is getting ready for? Their new building. The new high school is still under construction, slated to be completed in late 2025.

Morris said they are excited about the new building and the additional space it will provide for their growing student body. Woodruff High is starting the school year with about 900 students.

For now, when thinking about the future, Woodruff High is looking at ways to take the spirit of its current school with it when it moves.

"More of the focus is, how do we keep our tradition and our expectations and what we love about this building and somehow still bring it into that new school," Morris said. She said trees will be planted on the new campus this school year, and she hopes to get the student clubs and athletic teams involved.

Third Generation, First Year teacher starts at Drayton Mill Elementary School

Naomi Bynum started her first day as a teacher this morning at Drayton Mills. Last week, she was setting up her colorful, character-filled 4K classroom.

Bynum is a recent Winthrop University graduate and a third-generation teacher. Her mom, Shawna Bynum, is the director of the Franklin School, a model child development center operated by Spartanburg County First Steps in the Northside.

“I always was just tagging along. I really feel like it was just in my blood. I think I knew it and everyone else knew, eventually, I was gonna become a teacher,” Bynum said. “I’m just so glad I went that route. I have a huge passion for kids. I'm just really excited.”

Bynum, a self-described “DIY girl,” made several of the decorations in the classroom herself.

“I love fun and 3D art, and I just wanted to bring the class to life,” Bynum said.

Bynum said she looks forward to a year with her first 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls, and their families.

“I’m most excited about creating relationships with like my students, but also their families,” Bynum said. “I’m big on relationships. Even like the little things of them sending me the schedule of a kid having like a basketball game or something they're doing at church or whatever. I'm just excited to be able to be there for those moments.”

Principal Carla Cato said Bynum was one of eight new Drayton Mills Elementary School teachers.

“We’re fully staffed and ready to start school,” Cato said.

Like Bynum, Cato is stepping into a new role this year, her first as principal after six years as the school’s assistant principal.

“Our focus this year is pretty much going to be on student and staff well-being and making sure that we touch bases with our social-emotional learning,” Cato said.

Drayton Mills Elementary ended school last year with 809 students. They expect that number to increase this year. Cato said they’d keep the district office informed of their growth so more staff could be sent their way if needed.

“We have four new developments that are coming up around us that are very large, and so we know that we will be the ones to absorb the students in that zone,” Cato said. “We're looking to at least increase by size by somewhere between 50 to 100 students this school year.”

All those new and returning kids will have plenty to look forward to this year. Cato said Drayton Mills plans to bring its fall festival back in full force for the first time since the pandemic.

“Since COVID, we haven't been able to make it as big and put the magnitude to it that we wanted to, but we will this year. It’s going to be fun,” Cato said.

New traffic patterns

In District Five, newly constructed schools and those recently undergoing construction projects will have new car line patterns.

Look for new traffic directions at Tyger River Elementary School, Abner Creek Middle School, Berry Shoals Elementary School, Reidville Elementary School, Beech Springs Middle School, Wellford Academy, and Byrnes High School.“Our families will be learning these new patterns, and it might take several days or a week for the process to get ironed out,” Robinette said.District Six also reported that new traffic flow patterns will be implemented at Gable Middle School and Lone Oak Elementary School.

Is my child eligible for free breakfast or lunch this year?

Spartanburg County Districts One , Two, Three, Four, Six and Seven have confirmed that free breakfast and lunch is available through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for all students.

Free breakfast and lunch are available for all elementary school students in District 5. Middle and high school students can also apply for free and reduced meals .

The Community Eligibility Provision is a USDA meal funding option that allows districts or individual schools where 25% or more of students are eligible for free meals to give all their students complimentary breakfast and lunch without families having to opt in or apply individually.

Are there any important dates I need to know?

First semester holidays include Labor Day (Sept. 2), Election Day (Nov. 5), and Thanksgiving Break (Nov. 27-29).

Winter Break is Dec. 23-Jan.3. December 20 is a half day.

Spring Break is April 7-11.

Teacher development days are on Nov. 4, Jan. 6, Feb. 14, and March 14.

How do I get involved this school year?

Attending your district’s school board meetings will keep you up-to-date on issues and initiatives in your district.

Each board meets on a regular monthly schedule, though holidays may alter the schedule. Before attending, confirm times and locations on your district’s website.

Spartanburg County School District 1 School Board meets the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 2 School Board meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 3 School Board meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 4 School Board meets the first Monday of the month at 6 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 5 School Board meets on the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 6 School Board meets the first Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Spartanburg County School District 7 School Board meets the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m.

Upcoming school board meetings

Spartanburg County School District 1: August 12  at the District Office

Spartanburg County School District 2: August 13 at the District Office

Spartanburg County School District 3: August 19 at the District Office

Spartanburg County School District 4: September 9 at the District Office

Spartanburg County School District 5: August 26 at Duncan Elementary School

Spartanburg County School District 6: September 9 at the District Office

Spartanburg County School District 7: September 3 at the District Office

Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Back to school: Spartanburg County students return to classrooms; new traffic patterns