WINNSBORO – Less than 24 hours before Dr. Tracie Swilley boarded a plane Wednesday for Washington, D.C. where she will be presented as one of three nominees vying for National Principal of the Year on Friday night, she received another feather in her cap.
Under Swilley’s administration, Fairfield Central High School received a ‘Good’ rating on the S.C. State School Report Card for the first time in the school’s history.
Besides achieving an overall ‘Good’ rating, the school’s scores in math (60.8%) bested the state average (47.8%.) FCHS’ career readiness score (75.9%) also measured up well against the state’s average of 69.6%.
While the school’s English Language Arts (ELA) score of 58% fell short of the state’s average score of 66.4%, and there was a wide gap in FCHS’ college readiness score (16.2%) and the state average (32.5%.), the school’s on-time graduation rate (85.3%) was just shy of the state average (85.4%.)
“It’s been a long climb,” Swilley said, “and we’re still climbing.”
Fairfield School Superintendent Tony Hemingway praised Swilley.
“We’re really proud of the work that Dr. Swilley has done,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of conversations with her, just listening to the things she’s done with her instructional leadership, working with her staff, all of them helping to move the school forward. That hard work has paid off, and we are super proud of her.”
Swilley, in turn, heaped praise on her students and her staff for their overall ‘Good’ score as well as other areas where they have made improvement.
“I attribute this success to our staff, their belief in our students, and our students believing in what it takes to get it done and following through,” Swilley said.
“I also want to recognize what our parents, our school board, and the entire community have done to help make this happen,” she said. “It really does take a village.”