Everyone
Can
Thrive
Here
Spartanburg Launches Movement 2030 to Dramatically Improve Social Mobility for Young People and Families
Anchored with $100 million in private investment, Movement 2030 is an unprecedented community-led initiative that will create the conditions for children and families to succeed in life while ensuring Spartanburg County retains its talent and strengthens its workforce.
Spartanburg County has made tangible strides over the last decade with unprecedented economic growth, dramatic reductions in teen births, and improved academic performance in our highest poverty schools to name a few. These successes were made possible through a spirit of cooperation and collective impact where organizations and residents collaborate effectively to leverage combat social issues.
However, we know there is still work to do to ensure all children, families and individuals can achieve life success. Spartanburg County remains in the bottom 10 percent of counties across the country for upward social and economic mobility. That reality—where far too many of Spartanburg’s children and families are locked in poverty —is one that must change for our community to thrive.
A child born in a low-income household in Spartanburg County has only a 4 percent chance of making it to the top fifth of income in the United States; for Black children, the odds are 2 percent.
Spartanburg’s education data is no less concerning: 51 percent of our children are not ready for success in school when they enter kindergarten. And more than half of the students who start a postsecondary degree never finish.
Movement 2030 is a community-wide initiative by Spartanburg County for Spartanburg County. Led by the Spartanburg Academic Movement, Movement 2030 is streamlining critical resources and existing efforts—around school readiness, postsecondary degree attainment and workforce readiness, and place-based programming in under-invested communities to create the conditions for children and families to succeed in life, no matter where they are born and raised.
Enter Movement 2030
Designed by more than 30 community partners, Movement 2030 is an evidence-based, action-oriented, investable plan guided by the aspiration that everyone can thrive here. For much of 2023, stakeholders worked on this comprehensive economic mobility plan, which will be implemented by partners across Spartanburg County. Movement 2030 integrates multiple community and organizational plans and has measurable benchmarks, milestones and outcomes that will be accomplished over the next seven years.
The Spartanburg Academic Movement is serving as the initiative’s backbone organization. Dr. Russell Booker, CEO of the Spartanburg Academic Movement, said significant resources will allow partners to do advance this work.
“Movement 2030 is the culmination of decades of collaboration by diverse partners throughout Spartanburg. With its launch, we mark the beginning of a generational shift for our community,” Dr. Booker said. “By aligning efforts and holding ourselves accountable to clear measures of progress, not only will we improve the lives of thousands of residents we will also serve as a model for other communities across the country who are looking to advance place-based work. We want to prove that communities can indeed be places where everyone can thrive.”
“We want to prove that communities can indeed be places where everyone can thrive.”
Unprecedented Investment
Blue Meridian Partners, a pioneering philanthropic model for finding and funding scalable solutions to problems that limit economic and social mobility for America’s young people and families in poverty, has committed $50 million toward Movement 2030. Our regional partner, The Duke Endowment, has committed $25 million to the effort and state and local philanthropists and organizations have contributed an additional $25 million toward the seven-year plan.
Movement 2030 features two primary trajectories of work, both of which are critical for upward mobility. The plan aims to increase the percentage of Spartanburg’s children who are prepared for success in school in school when they start kindergarten – from the current level of 48 percent to 65 percent, in line with high-achieving, similar-sized communities. The plan also aims to increase the number of county high school graduates who enroll in post-secondary programs (degree or certificate) to 70 percent, setting them on a path to economic prosperity.
Movement 2030 is also investing in two place-based initiatives–the Northside and Highland neighborhoods–to bring their education outcomes in line with current county-wide averages.
Michael Williamson, CEO of the Northside Development Group, said Movement 2030 provides Northside children with the conditions and academic supports to achieve life success.
“Northside Development Group is excited to collaborate as a partner in Movement 2030, implementing the place-based strategy within the Northside,” Williamson said. “Our objectives are ambitious, aiming to ensure that by 2030, children in the Northside achieve academic success at or above county averages. We firmly believe that by implementing a two-generation approach, academic support systems, and sustained investments in community assets and infrastructure, the community can achieve these goals. The catalytic investments made through Movement 2030 will create pathways to upward mobility and economic prosperity for our Northside neighbors.”
By supporting and aligning existing, local efforts around school readiness, post-secondary attainment, and place-based programs, Movement 2030 expects to reach 60,000 people over the next seven years, including 7,000 young people.
“The catalytic investments made through Movement 2030 will create pathways to upward mobility and economic prosperity for our Northside neighbors.”
Digging Into The Plan
Movement 2030 is coordinating communitywide progress on three primary areas: school readiness, postsecondary attainment and place-based programs in two historically underserved areas.
By 2030, we will increase school readiness by 16 points from 48 percent to 65 percent. This means an additional 500 children every year will be prepared for success in school when they enter kindergarten. Spartanburg will reach this goal through the following efforts:
strengthening and growing prenatal and parent supports
improving the quality of early learning
expanding high-quality early care
increasing enrollment of early care and education services
By 2030, 70 percent of Spartanburg County’s high school graduates will enroll in a postsecondary degree or certificate—an increase of nine points from 2021—so that young people have a strong on-ramp to long-term economic success. The plan will also support 5,000 adults who have started a degree program but never finished to complete their schooling. The following efforts are including in the plan to ensure success:
strengthen alignment between public schools and postsecondary institutions
ensuing post-secondary access by reducing financial barriers
enabling institutions to address barriers that impact college completion
creating tighter linkages between education and the workplace
increasing adult re-engagement and degree and certificate attainment.
By 2030, measures of school readiness, grade-level proficiency and postsecondary completion in the Northside and Highland communities will reach or exceed countywide averages so that all of Spartanburg’s young people have stronger pathways for success.
Invest in two-generation and academic supports
Improve the built environment
Strengthen anchor community institutions
“The Movement 2030 plan incorporates many of the initiatives contained within OneSpartanburg Vision Plan 1.0 & 2.0 which doubles down on our community’s collaborative protocol. If economic mobility improves, so does our ability to recruit higher paying jobs,” said OneSpartanburg, Inc. President and CEO Allen Smith. “The synergy outlined and resources is the envy of the nation—we now must implement.”
