DUNCAN — It was hard to miss Tyger River Elementary School Principal Shayne Daugherty who wore a bright-yellow tuxedo and top hat on the first day of school as he greeted students returning from summer break. Students across Spartanburg County returned to classes on Aug. 12.
It's an exciting time with some nervous jitters included, especially for new students. In some cases, students were welcomed at new schools. There's been a push to build new schools in several districts, especially where enrollment growth is expected to rise over the next decade.
Students returned to classes on Aug. 12, 2024, in Spartanburg County. Tyger River Elementary School was among several new schools that opened in Spartanburg School District 5.
Tyger River Elementary School was among several new schools that opened in Spartanburg County School District 5 , which serves the Duncan, Lyman and Wellford communities. District 5 has nearly 11,000 students enrolled. It's experienced significant growth in recent years, with new housing construction not expected to slow anytime soon.
About 300-400 new students have enrolled in the school district in the past five years. In November 2021, voters in District 5 approved a bond referendum to allow the district to borrow $295 million to build a new elementary school and middle school and fund expansions at other schools. These projects were all completed by the opening of the 2024-25 school year.
At 120,000 square feet and located on 40 acres, Tyger River Elementary School on East Wade Hampton Boulevard in Duncan is considered a showcase. The school's first-day enrollment was 500 students. It can serve up to 900 students.
Students in Spartanburg County School District 5 returned to classes on Aug. 12, 2024. Daugherty said the school is poised for growth.
"It was amazing to watch it get built out," Daugherty said. "There are ballfields out back, a playground with a rubberized surface and new technology in the classrooms. Students from Duncan and Lyman will feed into this school and then go to Beech Springs Middle School when they leave.
" Daugherty's opening day attire was meant to inspire students not to be afraid to be different and embrace who they are as individuals. Tyger River's theme is "We All Fit Together," he said. Teachers from other schools in District 5, including Tiffany Thompson, a 26-year teaching veteran, transferred to Tyger River.
She previously taught at Abner Creek Academy and is excited about the new start. "Change is always good and sometimes it can be hard but it helps you grow," Thompson said. "It's a beautiful new school and everyone seems interested to be here.
We have everything we need at this school and there is a good support system." Students spent their first day touring Tyger River to become familiar with the new surroundings. Several kindergarten students said they were most excited about lunchtime in the cafeteria and playing with their friends outside on the playground.
District 5's new Abner Creek Middle School and Wellford Academy of Science and Technology also opened on Aug. 12. The new middle school on Gin House Road features a media center, band rooms and collaborative spaces.
It also has a cafeteria with space for an auditorium and stage. Abner Creek's capacity is between 800 to 900 students. Opening day enrollment was about 600 students.
Tyger River Elementary School in Duncan had 500 students on opening day Aug. 12, 2024. Melissa Robinette, District 5 spokeswoman, said the new Wellford Academy was constructed on Syphrit Road in Wellford behind a facility built in 1960 that formerly housed the academy.
It was another project funded by the bond referendum approved by voters in 2021. A new building addition with 40 classrooms also opened at Byrnes High School in Duncan for students. The addition includes administrative space at the high school.
Robinette visited several schools as students returned. "We had parents show up to schools early," Robinette said. "People are super excited to be part of a new school community.
We have been steadily growing over the past 20 years and it has not slowed down yet. If you look around, you see new housing and development coming here and we are happy to welcome new students and families to our area." In 2020-21, District 5 experienced its largest student enrollment growth with 700 students.
Growth is expected to continue in several of the county's seven public school districts with a new $100 million high school scheduled to be completed in Woodruff in southern Spartanburg County by November 2025. Planning for the new high school on Cross Anchor Road began in 2019. Voters in District 4 approved a referendum in August 2022 to issue general obligation bonds to build the new, 252,000-square-foot Woodruff High School.
Harper General Contractors began site work in late 2023 . Student enrollment in District 4 is expected to increase from 3,000 students to more than 4,400 students in the next four years. On Aug.
20, voters in Spartanburg School District 7 will decide whether to approve a $47 million bond to fund the replacement of Jesse Boyd Elementary School and build an addition to Mary H. Wright Elementary School. Early voting has begun on the District 7 referendum at the Spartanburg County Voter Registration Office at 366 N.
Church St. in Spartanburg and continues through Aug. 16.
A 9-mill property tax increase would pay off the 30-year bond. District 7 could add at least 400 students over the next three years..
