Nashville, TN – Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island, 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.

Waccamaw implements SREB’s school improvement design for high schools. Working with SREB, the school created a data wall for students in need of academic, behavioral and attendance interventions. Student-teacher relationships improved, and student perceptions began changing from one of defense to an understanding that adults in the building care about their well-being and future goals.

The high school also has strengthened its career pathways services with individualized graduation plans that match courses to career clusters to meet the needs of students. Waccamaw students graduate college and career ready at 50%, which is well above the state average of 29%.

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. 21

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.