The Orangeburg County School District family is being challenged to make each student successful, even when it's difficult. "We are committed to making the hard decisions, doing the extra work because we know that it is about lives, ensuring every single child, every single child, even those that sometimes are hard to love, that you put it aside and you love them," OCSD Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said Thursday.
Foster gave his annual State of the District address in Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College's Roquemore Auditorium. He asked those gathered to accept a starshaped "challenge coin" representing guidance, light, future and vision. The coin was inscribed with year's district theme: "Building Capacity, Sustaining Success.
" "When it gets tough and you question if you accept this, I hope you put this somewhere where you can see it and say, 'I made this commitment. I will not let the challenge beat me. I am going to beat the challenge,'" Foster said.
Foster said it is about all, "standing shoulder to shoulder" with the district to ensure that every single student has "the best life for the rest of their life." "We can't do it alone," Foster said. "We are just not that great.
Without the support of this community, without the love and honesty of this community, our kids will only give us so much. Let's continue to do great things here in Orangeburg." Foster acknowledged the district has challenges and that student test scores – which have generally improved over the pa.
