Spartanburg Academic Movement

The Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) formed in response to the need to improve post-secondary success rates across Spartanburg County to build the economy and economic mobility for residents. The Spartanburg County Foundation and its donors provided a $500,000 matching grant to establish the nonprofit organization. Since that initial investment, the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) has brought extensive funding into the community to support a holistic approach to improving academic achievement.

SAM launched the John T. Wardlaw Institute for Continuous Improvement to help train educators and community service providers to apply continuous improvement science to their work in and out of classrooms.

SAM operates the Center for Resilient Schools and Communities to provide training for educators and community leaders about the impact of adverse childhood experiences to combat these effects in how they serve children and families across Spartanburg County to build stronger more resilient children and families.

The Foundation continues to work in partnership with SAM, providing fiduciary support for the management of the community’s Movement 2030 initiative led by SAM.