Nashville, TN – Sumter Career and Technology Center in Sumter, South Carolina, is the winner of a 2024 Gene Bottoms Pacesetter School Award from the Southern Regional Education Board.

The school was honored July 9 at SREB’s Making Schools Work Conference in Nashville.

Pacesetter Awards recognize schools that are implementing one of SREB’s Making Schools Work school improvement frameworks and are achieving success in meeting bold goals related to graduation rates, readiness for college and careers, and credential attainment.

Sumter Career and Technology Center implements SREB’s school improvement design for technology centers. The center, which serves three high schools, has established a culture of continuous improvement by implementing new programs and tailored professional development, encouraging community involvement, creating professional advisory committees and offering students opportunities to earn industry certifications in different areas.

SCTC is the first career and technology center in South Carolina to earn a STEM certification from Cognia, a membership organization that offers accreditation and certifications. The center offers courses in cybersecurity and law enforcement forensics to meet the employment demands of business and industry in the region. In the 2023-24 school year, the school implemented a game and interactive media design program and esports competitive teams (both varsity and junior varsity). 

SREB’s Making Schools Work Conference is held annually and provides educators with opportunities to participate in professional development, network with colleagues from across the country and build school and district leadership capacity.

Contact: Janita Poe, SREB News Manager, at Janita.Poe@sreb.org or 404-879-5516, ext. 216

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states, districts and schools to improve education at every level, from early childhood through doctoral education and the workforce. An interstate compact and a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Atlanta, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislatures to advance education and improve the social and economic life of the region.