SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Hundreds of teachers, nonprofit staff, donors, business partners and public officials spent part of this week at Thrive 2026 inside the Spartanburg Marriott, a gathering rooted in the belief that report cards alone do not decide how far a student will go.
The Spartanburg Academic Movement, the nonprofit known as SAM, hosts the event. SAM works to find and narrow achievement gaps across Spartanburg County by teaming up on programs and pairing students with mentors.
This year the theme is social capital, meaning the relationships that open doors for young people. The speaker list featured a Harvard University economics professor, plus authors and local leaders who study why those ties matter.
The county data SAM tracks shows both progress and distance still to cover. Countywide, 51.9 percent of third graders were proficient readers in 2023, short of the state mark of 53.4 percent. At four high-poverty elementary schools, the share of third graders reading on grade level more than doubled, going from 14.7 percent in 2017 up to 33.3 percent by 2023.
Gaps by race remain large, with a 36-point spread between white and Black students in English language arts in 2023.
Through its Movement 2030 effort, SAM and more than 30 partners aim to have 70 percent of the county’s high school graduates enroll in college or job training by 2030.
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