Dear Spartanburg Day School Learning Community,

Over the course of the last two weeks we have launched a series of exercises intended to develop a Portrait of an Educator at Spartanburg Day School. Both the full faculty and the Board of Trustees engaged in this work and its outcome is fundamentally important to our school. The Portrait of an Educator will inform almost every aspect of who it is that joins our community from a hiring process perspective, how we grow and develop our educators, and what current and prospective families can expect from their children’s teachers. And so in these early stages of this work, I felt it important to share a few core insights that have revealed themselves about our educators here at SDS: 

• At Spartanburg Day School, our educators are much more than instructors; they are mentors, advocates, and extended family members who create a "second home" where trust transforms the learning experience. 
• The Portrait of an Educator will be built on core pillars including Family & Community, Trust & Safety, and Individual Celebration, ensuring that every student’s unique potential is recognized and honored through personalized, face-to-face education. 
• By prioritizing holistic well-being alongside academic rigor, our teachers support students "in life, not just the classroom," fostering the purposeful, confident, and discerning qualities defined in our Portrait of a Graduate. 
• We are developing this framework in order to continue to grant our faculty passionate autonomy, empowering these professionals to bring their own creativity and expertise to the curriculum, which in turn inspires our students to take ownership of their own educational journeys.

We are profoundly grateful for our faculty, who are truly expert practitioners and masters of both content and pedagogy. Their commitment to excellence as a mindset is evident in every division, whether they are facilitating hands-on discovery for our youngest learners or acting as Project Catalysts who guide older students through complex, real-world problems. Because of our intimate class ratios, our teachers are able to know each student deeply, nurturing individual talents and ensuring that every child is challenged to grow within a supportive community of trust. We continue to invest in their professional wonder through initiatives like the Dorrance Grants, fostering a culture of lifelong learning that directly translates into a richer, more innovative academic experience for our students. It is the dedication and passion of these educators that truly transform and prepare our Griffins for a life well lived.

My hope is that the above rings true for you and your families, and I would welcome your thoughts on characteristics that should inform our Portrait of an Educator. 

Go Griffins!

Sincerely,