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OUR THEME“Elevate Your Impact”OUR GOALS● Provide world-class safety and a positive school culture.● Provide world-class, high-quality instruction to increase studentachievement.● Provide world-class communication and family engagement.January 29, 2024Dear LCSD 55 Family,The last several weeks have been difficult as we have beenchallenged with the tall task of stepping in for Dr. Ameca Thomas sinceher resignation. We want to recognize the strong work that she did forthe district and the many accomplishments realized under herleadership. Our job will be to bridge the gap and provide steadyleadership for our district until a new superintendent can be secured.We are seeing growth in student achievement in our schools and seeinitiatives paying dividends in classrooms. We will focus our efforts onaccelerating growth this semester and look forward to working with the administrations and teachersin all schools to make this a reality. Our students deserve the best efforts we have and that will beour main focus in the coming weeks and months. The call for everyone to elevate their impact forthe benefit of students will continue to be our call as we move forward in this school year. It isindeed an honor to serve you through this interim period.

REMINDERS & CELEBRATIONSSCHOOL BOARD MEETINGSThe Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD 55) School Board will hold the remaining2023-24 board meetings at the LCSD 55 Administrative Office at 301 Hillcrest Drive,Laurens, South Carolina 29360. The next meeting is on Monday, February 26, 2024,starting at 6:30 p.m.PRESS RELEASESNew Raiders Head Football Coach Greg PorterSouth Carolina School Boards AssociationCelebrates Mr. Anthony Carpenter2023-24 Winter GraduationMartin Luther King, Jr. Essay Writing & PublicSpeaking CompetitionLoss of Staff MemberLINKSEnglish Language Arts InstructionalMaterials Review FlyerEarly Childhood Registration FlyerFebruary 15, 2024, CompassionateParenting RegistrationIMPACT: 55 Episode 25 CarsonEnglandIMPACT: 55 Episode 26 Tylan FowlerLaurens 55 Spotlight: Krystal McGrewMartin Luther King, Jr. ElementaryDivision Winning Essay by Joseline ClardyMartin Luther King, Jr. Middle School Division Winning Essay by Elijah “Eli” Lauer

2024 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.ESSAY WRITING & PUBLICSPEAKING COMPETITIONFINALISTSLaurens County School District 55(LCSD 55) is proud of all the studentswho participated in the 2024 MartinLuther King, Jr. Essay Writing andPublic Speaking Competition. LCSD55 would like to thank the teachers fortheir guidance and support, and alsorecognize the following finalists:Elementary DivisionLaurens Elementary School - Digna Meja Lumus (3rd grade) and Estelle Black (4th grade)E.B. Morse Elementary School - Janet Elders (4th grade)Waterloo Elementary School - Kexin Eaton (3rd Grade)Ford Elementary School - Jayla Little (4th grade), Micah Kennedy (4th grade), Ryleigh Doxtator(5th grade), and Jatziri Hernandez (5th grade)Hickory Tavern School - Serenity Smith (5th grade) and Emerson Cole (5th grade)Middle School DivisionGray Court-Owings School - Daniel Williams (7th grade), Khasen Earle (7th grade), Krishna Carter(7th grade), Savannah Taylor (8th grade), and Aubrey Knight (8th grade)Sanders Middle School - Kayleigh Wilson (7th grade), Kinsley Garcia (7th grade), and KayleighGriffin (8th grade)Hickory Tavern School - Maggie Payne (8th grade)Laurens Middle School - Anjara Norton (7th grade) and Nadia Tate-Fletcher (8th grade)RAIDERS BOYS BASKETBALL COACH AND NAVY JUNIORRESERVE OFFICERS TRAINING CORPS SENIOR CHIEF ARMONDFLOOD SPEAKS AT ROTARY CLUB OF LAURENSArmond Flood is in his second year in Laurens County School District55. He has made and continues to make a positive impact on thedistrict’s athletes and students. He was the honored guest speaker atthe Rotary Club of Laurens on Thursday, January 11, 2024.Learn more about Senior Chief Flood and his initiatives:First Annual Tip-Off Dinner and Green Jacket CeremonySecond Tip-Off Dinner and Green Jacket Ceremony2023 Raider Navy Military BallFlood Takes NJROTC to New Heights100th DAY AND 101st DAY OF SCHOOLCELEBRATIONSSchools in Laurens County School District 55(LCSD 55) celebrated the 100th Day and 101stDay of School on January 24th and 25th.

LEGISLATIVE BREAKFASTThe Laurens County School District 55 (LCSD 55)Administration, led by Interim Superintendents Dr. JodyPenland and Dr. Rhett Harris, held a LegislativeBreakfast on January 5, 2024. This meeting with localleaders is a platform to partner with community leadersand elected leaders who may be able to supportaddressing the various needs in LCSD 55. Among thosein attendance were South Carolina District 42Representative Doug Gilliam, South Carolina District 14Representative Stewart Jones, South Carolina District 9Senator Danny Verdin III, Laurens County CouncilChairman Brown Patterson, Laurens County CouncilMember Shirley Clark, Town of Gray Court MayorStellartean Jones, LCSD 55 School Board ChairwomanCathy Little, LCSD 55 School Board Members Chip Jenkins, Heather Hall Elders, Tabitha Keith,and Mike Hughes. A representative for United States Congressman Jeff Duncan was also inattendance. The district shared information regarding the progress of the Laurens Career andTechnological Education building, the implementation of the Laurens Educators Achieving Resultsto Net Success (LEARNS), and the success of Waterloo Elementary School with the Blue RibbonSchools of Excellence Continuous School Improvement Process. Representative Gilliam andSenator Verdin shared information on a proposal that will impact the Tax Equalization between thetwo Laurens County School Districts. Dr. Penland also encouraged feedback from participants onwhat LCSD 55 can focus on and do better with.SPOTLIGHT ON 2023 DISTINGUISHED TEACHER OF LITERACY (DTL) WINNERS PART 2The Laurens County Literacy Association honored teachers in Laurens County for successfullyembedding literacy skills into their lessons and helping students have a better understanding of theconcepts they are learning. The Laurens County Literacy Association held an awards banquet onDecember 11, 2023. This section features some of the winners from Laurens 55. Congratulationsto all the winners.Laura Cook is the 2023 DTL Winner at Laurens District 55 HighSchool (LDHS). Laura graduated from Tennessee TempleUniversity in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in SecondaryEnglish Education. She started teaching at Gray Court-Owings inthe Fall of 2016 and moved to LDHS at the start of this schoolyear. She is in her 17th year teaching.Laura Cook said, “I love building relationships and making adifference in my students' lives. I also absolutely LOVE teachingthe classics in a way that makes the kids fall in love with themtoo.”She firmly believes educators need to convey their love and excitement for what they teach sothe students realize it matters. “Attitudes are contagious. If I am excited about my content and Idemonstrate how much I care about it and my students, I have a better chance of convincing mystudents to care. One of my college professors used to say, ‘Our students won't care about howmuch we know until they know how much we care.’ This is true about literacy and about everyother discipline taught. I try to live out this quote in my classroom every day,” Cook added.

Nanci Weeks is the 2023 DTL Secondary Level Winner at GrayCourt-Owings School. She graduated from Lander University with aBachelor of Science degree. She earned her Masters in ElementaryEducation at Converse University. She is in her first year teaching atLaurens County School District 55 but comes with a strong teachingbackground and is in her 32nd year working as an educator.Nanci Weeks became an educator because she has always lovedhelping others become successful. She loves working with children.She said, “It gives me great joy to see my students' faces shine withhappiness in achieving their goals. I hope the seeds I plant in myclassroom will help all my students make their academic and futurecareer goals a reality.”Nanci Weeks believes reading, writing and comprehension go hand in hand, and students mustmaster these skills. “Reading is the key to knowledge, and knowledge is something that cannever be taken from you. As educators, we must instill strong reading and writing skills in ourstudents and help them to become critical thinkers. I think one of the greatest gifts we can giveour students is the gift of reading,” she added.Abigail Kittrick graduated from Plymouth State University and holdsa Bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education with a minor inSpecial Education. She has been with Laurens County SchoolDistrict 55 at Waterloo Elementary School (WES) for eight years.She said, “I love working with fresh minds that can absorb so muchinformation so quickly, and I get to see learning happen and be apart of many first-time experiences.”As the 2023 WES Distinguished Teacher of Literacy Winner, AbigailKittrick deeply believes that literacy should be embeddedthroughout all subjects. It can be incorporated in a variety of engaging and fun ways. “I believeliteracy instruction should be explicit, literacy should be easily accessible, and students canheavily rely on schema and prior background knowledge to fuel their learning. I believe teachingliteracy can be taught in a multitude of ways to be effective; in addition to written text, studentscan have hands-on experience, sensory play, and peer conversation and interaction to increaseliteracy skills,” she said.Laurens County School District #55 is committed to the principle of equal opportunity. It is the policy of thedistrict not to discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, age, national origin, immigrant status,English-speaking status, familial status, or disability with regard to students, employees, or applicants foradmission or employment.