Superintendent's Message

Falcon Family,

It’s a great day to be a Falcon! As we begin the 2025–2026 school year, I want to ask a simple but powerful question: Why not Florence? Why not Florence students leading the state in academics, athletics, and the arts? Why not Florence to redefine what it means to be innovative, resilient, and united? Why not Florence to prepare the next generation of leaders, dreamers, and doers?

Florence City Schools is already showing what’s possible. Our ACT and ACAP scores are rising. Our career and technical education programs are expanding opportunities. Our arts and athletic programs continue to shine, bringing home accolades while shaping character. But the real measure of our success is in the lives of our students. We measure success by their growth, their courage, their belief that they are the key to unlocking their future and we have all the tools here to equip them for a successful and bright future of tomorrow, right here in the system, the community, the Florence City Schools.

As I look back at more than 20 years since the creation of “One Florence” through the merger of Coffee and Bradshaw, we honor the vision and courage of those who brought us together. They dreamed of blending history and tradition into something stronger, something unified. That dream continues in us. Our task is to carry it forward with courage, faith, and determination.

Being a Falcon means more than wearing blue, black, silver, and white. If we are to be FALCONS, we are to strive every day to be: Family. Achievers. Loyalty. Collaboration. One Florence. Never Give Up. Serve Others. This is what we strive to create daily, FALCONS. From W.C. Handy to Florence High School, every child, every parent, every faculty member, every staff member, and every community partner must understand that FALCONS is we aspire to be, and we strive to grow. It will take each of us, together, to support teachers, to support staff members, to support principals, to support children and families. From the board member to the ball coach, from the families that cheer on the students to the families of the faculty, staff, and administrators that cheer on and encourage them, we are all needed, and we are all Falcons. You may be a tiger, a bruin, or a yellow jacket, but who we were is the foundation for who we are. We are FALCONS!  

Falcons, we must be fanatics about encouraging and growing our students who are your children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends. If we are to be great, we all must be on the path of growth. Every Falcon can succeed when they know they belong, they are valued, and they are capable of and expected to be great on their level.

Go Falcons!

Dr. Jimmy D. Shaw Jr.
Superintendent, Florence City Schools