Progress continues across Gateway to Innovation! This week, insulation went up on the front wall, interior doors and cabinets were installed, the playground fence is going up, and temporary air was turned on inside the building.
Every week brings us another step closer to opening our doors in January!
Following 13 years of leadership, Superintendent Dr. Danny Merck will conclude his service at the end of the 2026–2027 school year. With advance planning, the Board of Trustees is beginning the search process now to support a thoughtful and seamless transition.
The search will be guided by our Innovate ’28 Strategic Plan and shaped by input from the people who know and care about SDPC — our students, employees, families, and Pickens County community.
🗣️ Your voice matters.
The Board of Trustees, in partnership with the South Carolina School Boards Association, is gathering community input to help identify the qualities, experience, and leadership priorities that should guide the search for SDPC’s next superintendent.
The first opportunity to share your input:
📅 Tuesday, September 29, 2026
📍 Liberty High School (124 Red Devil Drive, Liberty, SC 29657)
⏰ 6:00 PM
Additional opportunities for community input will be announced as the search progresses.
Learn more about the superintendent search and how you can participate: https://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/article/3112602
#SDPC #EngagingToday #EmpoweringTomorrow
Mark your calendars, SDPC! There will be no school for students on Monday, September 7 in observance of Labor Day. Enjoy the long weekend!
For additional important dates throughout the school year, visit the SDPC District Calendar.
Great projects are built through strong partnerships, and we couldn’t have asked for a better team to help bring G2i to life.
Alex Lay, G2i’s project architect with Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC), Tim Franklin, Superintendent, and Lane Towery, Assistant Superintendent, with Triangle Construction, have worked closely together throughout this project to turn the vision for Gateway to Innovation into a reality.
Their teamwork, communication, attention to detail, and commitment to this project are evident throughout G2i. We are incredibly grateful for Alex, Tim, and Lane and the role each of them has played in creating a facility that will impact the students of Pickens County for generations to come.
We are excited to welcome Corporal Austin Burton as the newest member of the Gateway to Innovation team!
Austin began his law enforcement career as a road patrol officer in 2021 before joining the Pickens Police Department, where he has served for the past three years. He served as a corporal on road patrol before transitioning to the role of School Resource Officer in 2025. Austin is also an active member of the department’s Special Response Team and serves as a department training officer.
This fall, Austin will serve as a School Resource Officer at Pickens Middle School before officially joining the G2i team when we open to students in January 2027. We are grateful that he will already be serving students and building relationships within the Pickens community as he prepares for his new role at G2i.
G2i is especially meaningful to Austin because he completed the welding program at the B.J. Skelton Career Center. He understands firsthand the value of hands-on career and technical education and believes G2i will help prepare Pickens County students for future success in the workforce.
Austin and his wife will celebrate eight years of marriage this October. They have four daughters, and much of his time outside of work is spent watching them play and train for volleyball.
Corporal Burton looks forward to keeping the G2i campus safe, building relationships with students, and serving as a mentor along the way.
Please join us in welcoming Corporal Austin Burton to G2i!
These flags will be proudly flown at G2i as symbols of our pride in both our country and our state. They will also serve as a meaningful reminder of the support our students receive from leaders across South Carolina.
Thank you, Representative Bowers, for taking the time to visit, learn more about G2i's vision, and present us with these special gifts. We are grateful for your support of Gateway to Innovation and the students of Pickens County!
For 75 years, the School District of Pickens County has been more than a collection of schools - it has been a place where students discover their passions, build lasting relationships, and create memories that shape their futures.
Throughout this anniversary year, we’ve celebrated the people, places, and programs that have made SDPC special by sharing stories from across our schools and community.
Now, those stories come together in one place.
📖 "75 Years of Impact: Past. Present. Potential." is a commemorative magazine that celebrates the legacy we’ve built and the Experience SDPC that continues to make our district unique.
Inside, you’ll find the moments, milestones, and voices that reflect who we are - and the commitment that continues to guide us as we engage students today and empower them for tomorrow.
👉 Explore the magazine: https://www.flipsnack.com/BFD76799E8C/75-years-of-impact-sdpc-2026
#75YearsOfImpact #ExperienceSDPC #EngagingToday #EmpoweringTomorrow
If your student will be riding the bus to or from school, please take a moment to complete the 📝 SDPC Transportation Form to ensure they are scheduled for 🚌 pickup and drop-off before August 1.
🔗 Find the form linked here: https://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/page/transportation
If your student will be riding the bus to or from school, please take a moment to complete the 📝 SDPC Transportation Form to ensure they are scheduled for 🚌 pickup and drop-off before August 4th!
🔗 Find the form linked here: https://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/page/transportation
We’ve got great news for SDPC families!
Thanks to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), all students will receive FREE breakfast and lunch every day during the 2026-2027 school year - no forms, no fees, no hassle! 🙌
✅ No need to submit a meal application
✅ Every student is automatically eligible
✅ Healthy meals = focused minds + strong bodies
This program ensures that every child has access to nutritious meals to fuel learning and success. It’s one more way we’re supporting our students - together!
Questions? Visit www.sdpcnutrition.com or contact Jenaffer Stevenson, Director of Student Nutrition Services:
📧 jenafferstevenson@pickens.k12.sc.us | 📞 864-397-1166
#SDPCNutrition #EngagingToday #EmpoweringTomorrow
📚 The first day of school for SDPC students is Tuesday, August 4! We can't wait to welcome everyone back for an amazing year of learning.
Please note: Students in our 4K and 5K programs have a staggered start to help ensure a successful transition to school.
🍎 4K Families: Your child's school will contact you to schedule:
• An assessment appointment on August 4 or 5
• A half-day orientation on August 6 or 7
• Full-day classes begin Monday, August 10
🍎 5K Families: Your child's school will contact you to schedule:
• An assessment appointment on August 4, 5, or 6
• Full-day classes begin Friday, August 7
We look forward to seeing our students soon! 💙
Give your child a great start with the SDPC Academy for Early Learners — a FREE 4K program designed to inspire curiosity, build confidence, and prepare students for kindergarten and beyond.
Through hands-on learning in immersive environments, students explore, create, problem-solve, and grow while developing important early literacy, social, and emotional skills.
🚌 FREE transportation is available to all Pre-K students!
Don’t miss this opportunity to give your child an engaging learning experience that sets the stage for future success!
🔗 Register for 4K today: https://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/page/four-year-old-kindergarten
📩 Questions? Contact the Academy for Early Learners at aelreg@pickens.k12.sc.us or 864-397-1000.
A sponsorship at Gateway to Innovation is about much more than a financial contribution.
One of the most valuable ways to support G2i is simply by sharing your time, talents, and real-world experience with our students. Whether you’re speaking to a class, mentoring students, serving on an advisory committee, or partnering on a project, you can help inspire the next generation of our workforce.
Businesses, industries, churches, civic organizations, and individuals all have something valuable to offer. There are also opportunities to support G2i through equipment, program sponsorships, and other investments that will impact thousands of students each year. Every partnership—large or small—helps prepare students for successful futures while strengthening the workforce and economy of Pickens County.
If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Gateway to Innovation, send us an email to G2i Director Tim Johnson at timjohnson@pickens.k12.sc.us. We’d love to talk with you about how you can help shape the future of Pickens County.
We were honored to welcome local pastors from across Pickens County to G2i today.
We appreciate their support, encouragement, and interest in the vision of creating new opportunities for students across Pickens County.
The future is being built through strong community partnerships!
Big changes are happening at the G2i site this week!
With paint going on the building, Gateway to Innovation is starting to look more and more like the place where students will soon explore, create, problem-solve, and dream about their futures.
It is exciting to see the vision becoming reality, one step at a time!
Jack is a 2024 honors graduate of Easley High School and also attended Gettys Middle School and Forest Acres Elementary School. He is now studying Construction Science and Management at Clemson University.
Jack has deep roots in our community. His parents and sister are also graduates of Easley High and Clemson, and his mom proudly serves as a teacher in the School District of Pickens County. Outside of work and school, Jack enjoys golfing and fishing.
There is something especially meaningful about seeing a former SDPC student helping build a place that will one day serve future generations of SDPC students. Jack’s story is a great example of how education, opportunity, and community come full circle.
We are especially grateful to Triangle Construction for investing in Jack and for believing in a former SDPC student with this incredible opportunity. We’re proud to have Jack as part of the G2i story this summer.
This morning, Kevin McCurry, Industrial Technology instructor at the Pickens County Career & Technology Center, presented G2i Director Tim Johnson with a wooden American flag made by him and his classes.
We are grateful for the time, craftsmanship, and pride that went into creating this special piece. We look forward to displaying it at G2i for students, staff, and visitors to enjoy.
A special thank you to Ray Farley II, Executive Director; Jeromy Arnett, Existing Industry & Workforce Development Manager; and Emily Brazinski, Research and Administrative Manager, for taking the time to visit and learn more about the impact G2i will have on students, workforce development, and the future of Pickens County.
Alliance Pickens plays an integral role in generating new jobs, supporting existing industry, and strengthening long-term economic growth in our community. G2i is being built with that same future-focused mindset — connecting students to career pathways, workforce needs, and hands-on learning experiences that will help prepare the next generation for success.
We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with Alliance Pickens in this important work and look forward to the opportunities ahead.
This was a powerful real-world learning experience for our students. They were able to see the skills they are learning in the classroom come to life on an active construction site right here in the School District of Pickens County.
A special thank you to Triangle Construction for making this experience possible and for being intentional about involving our students in the G2i project. Their willingness to welcome students, explain the work taking place, and help connect classroom learning to real career opportunities means a great deal.
Experiences like this are exactly what G2i is all about: connecting curiosity to careers
We are excited to continue highlighting the team who will help welcome the very first students and families to Gateway to Innovation when doors open in January 2027!
Today’s spotlight is Kim Williams, Administrative Assistant at G2i.
Kim brings over 20 years of experience serving in the School District of Pickens County, most recently at Dacusville Middle School, where she has been a key part of daily operations since 2008. Throughout her career, she has managed bookkeeping, balanced budgets, supported front office operations, and served as a welcoming first point of contact for students, parents, and staff.
Kim is known for being organized, dependable, and able to handle multiple tasks while keeping everything running smoothly. Her experience working with the public and supporting school operations will be invaluable as we open G2i.
As the Administrative Assistant, Kim will help ensure that every student, parent, partner, and community member who walks through our doors feels welcomed and supported from the very beginning.
Welcome to Gateway to Innovation, Kim!
