The following programs are available to Spartanburg County teachers and students for the 2009 - 2010 academic year:
Teacher in-service program
The teacher in-service program focuses on three areas: familiarizing teachers with the historical lay-out and development of the city of Spartanburg; familiarizing teachers with the geography of the Spartanburg County area and historical developments in the greater region; and connecting Spartanburg-area history to state, regional, and national history (thus understanding Spartanburg developments in a regional and national context). Teacher in-service programs consist of a combination of slide shows and driving tours. In-service programs can be arranged at any point in the year. Teachers and administrators have opportunities to learn about community stories, to learn how to use numerous community resources for student learning projects, and have access to creative and unique student lesson plans.
Driving or walking tours of Spartanburg
This program focuses on city lay-out / design and structure. The origins and development of the city of Spartanburg are defined in the context of the development of other American and world cities. Specific issues include "elevation," water, transportation systems, economic development, social status, and demographic change. This program is offered in partnership with the Spartanburg Historical Association.
Driving tours of Spartanburg County and the surrounding region
This program focuses on select topics, which can include: Indians in the region, early settler migrations and settlement patterns, the Revolutionary War, early industrialization and economic systems, the Civil War, the coming of the railroads and mills, the emergence of "modern Spartanburg," the military camps, the New Deal.
Focus on Charleston and the Low Country, Columbia / the state capitol, the Piedmont of the Carolinas and Georgia, or Asheville and the mountains. Expand a nature studies field trip to the Low Country to include hands-on history and archaeology in the Charleston area. Follow the Clinchfield Railroad north to the historic Alta Pass / Gillespie Gap, picking up the Overmountain Victory Trail en route, and passing through early gold-mining country (while hearing rumors of Lincoln's birth in the region). Or go southeast on the Spartanburg and Union Rail line, observing very early architectural styles and transportation modes, including canals / canal boats, the horse-drawn bus, early automobiles, and the trolley. The possibilities are rich, and thoroughly reinforce or teach national and state subject standards.
Customized programs that can cover state or regional history, nature studies, literature, and other disciplines
Whitney Mill dam and spillway, Lawson's Fork of the Pacolet River
early Southern Railway culvert, Chinquapin Creek