Dear Panther Students, Parents, and Staff,
As summer draws to a close, we find ourselves on the brink of another school year filled with endless possibilities and opportunities for learning and growth. As Superintendent of the Panther Nation, I am honored to serve this great school district, and I am excited about the direction we are headed as we continue to honor the deeply-rooted traditions of the past while making advancements to meet the needs of our 21st-century students.
The physical landscape of our district continues to evolve. During the 2021-2022 school year, we saw the completion of a new secure front entrance at Batesburg-Leesville Primary School. The 2022-2023 school year brought changes just down Summerland Avenue at Batesburg-Leesville High School as construction on the state-of-the-art Career and Technology Education Center wrapped up just in time for the start of second semester. Batesburg-Leesville High School’s beautiful main entryway also was completed in the Spring of 2023, offering students a modern library and contemporary classrooms for the entire fine arts department.
This school year, we sincerely appreciate your continued patience as we progress forward in our facility upgrade plan. Additional projects are currently underway at both Batesburg-Leesville Primary and Batesburg-Leesville High Schools. This summer, construction crews have been working around the clock to bring the interiors of both schools into modern-day design while working to add supplemental learning spaces. In addition, a brand-new library and cafeteria are being added to the rear of Batesburg-Leesville Primary School. A cutting-edge and much needed competition gymnasium is also being built at Batesburg-Leesville High School. Our goal with all of these projects is to ensure that our students have what they need to continue to excel during their K-12 educational career.
Lexington Three has thrived and prospered in the years following the COVID pandemic and our success is entirely due to the collective efforts of our faculty, staff, students, parents and the Batesburg-Leesville community. Just last year, Batesburg-Leesville Middle School was re-designated as a national School to Watch and Batesburg-Leesville High School was named as a finalist for the prestigious state Palmetto’s Finest Award. Our students also achieved great success academically and in athletics and extracurricular activities. There’s no question that Lexington Three continues to set the standard of excellence in public education in South Carolina, and I know that even more recognitions are headed our way during the 2023-2024 school year.
In closing, it is my hope that we embark on this new school year exemplifying the #PantherStrong hashtag that our administrators have deemed as this year’s overlying theme. Let it be our unified goal to not only inspire the next generation of great society members and leaders but to also make a notable difference in our part of the world. Go Panthers!
Most Respectfully,
Ashley Atkinson
