Five years ago, the graduation rate at Gettys Broome High School was below the state average. Now the Upstate high school tops the state.

Educators at the school credit no single solution with turning the tide. But two strategies in particular helped. First, they assigned every single senior a faculty mentor who checks in with them multiple times throughout the year. Second, they redesigned the lunch period to create space during the school day for remediation and extracurricular activities.

The strategies are ones any school could use. Join the Education Lab for a conversation with Broome educators about how they’re helping students.

Panelists include:
Rodney Graves, Principal at Broome High School
Jermaine Greene, Assistant Principal, Broome High School

In person event will be held at:
Gettys D. Broom High School Auditorium
381 Cherry Hill Road in Spartanburg
Thursday, June 8
Doors: 5:30 p.m. | Event: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The event is free, but you must register to attend.

Uncensored expression: anyone is invited to step up to share song, music, poetry, comedy, rants & raves!

The most eclectic open mic around, in a welcoming gallery setting! 6 pm signup, perform 6:30-8:30 pm.

via Facebook
Join State Museum planetarium manager, Liz Klimek, on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month for a virtual exploration of the stars, planets and constellations you can observe in night-sky. These programs premier on the museum’s Facebook page at the designated time listed above.

Watch the stars under the stars at the Greer City Park Amphitheater! The Moonlight Movies series is free and fun for all families. Pre-show fun & crafts start at 7:00pm. Movies start at sundown (8:45pm-9:00pm) Thursday nights during the summer. Concessions will be available for purchase.

GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter, producer and actor Anthony Hamilton has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and been proclaimed a “national treasure” by the Los Angeles Times. The North Carolina Music Hall of Fame inductee has cemented his place in the history books as the “narrator of love” with awe-inspiring performances and emotionally raw lyrics. Hamilton first burst onto the scene in 2003 with his smash hit “Charlene,” which garnered the attention of NPR and resulted in him starring in their Noteworthy documentary series. In 2007, he made his film debut in the critically acclaimed American Gangster, and in 2012, he lent his vocals to the Django Unchained soundtrack.

Hamilton now adds author and publisher to his lists of accomplishments with the unveiling of his first self-published book Cornbread, Fish n’ Collard Greens, where he shares the inspiration for some of the iconic songs in his illustrious career and his love of southern food.

Join us for an evening with Krisitn Harmel! Bestselling author of the “heart-stopping tale of survival and heroism” (People) The Book of Lost Names, Kristin’s latest book is a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation. Come sip a book-inspired cocktail while we hear all about the writing of The Paris Daughter.

Your ticket includes admission, a cocktail, and a copy of the book.

BOOK SUMMARY

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

An “exquisite and gut-wrenching novel” (Lisa Barr, New York Times bestselling author) you won’t soon forget, The Paris Daughter is also a sweeping celebration of resilience, motherhood, and love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels including The Forest of Vanishing Stars, The Book of Lost Names, The Room on Rue Amélie, and The Sweetness of Forgetting. She is published in more than thirty languages and is the cofounder and cohost of the popular web series, Friends & Fiction. She lives in Orlando, Florida.

Classically trained Charlotte-area jazz pianist Phillip Howe began his musical journey at the age of four. His horizons shifted towards jazz after years of showing up to weekly jazz jam sessions at the Double Door Inn. Phil is now one of the Southeast’s leading jazz pianists. His trio is very much a musical collective, three musicians interacting as one. Asheville bassist and composer Michael Holstein brings a notable degree of virtuosity to the ensemble; dynamic Greenville, SC drummer adds the pulse. The degree of creativity and empathy the three musicians share on stage is formidable, the hallmark of a great jazz piano trio.

Phillip Howe/piano, Mike Holstein/bass, Kevin Korschgen/drums