Spartanburg School District One has changed its graduation requirements, adding and removing several classes for students.

One of the most significant changes is the addition of personal finance as a graduation requirement. Teachers such as Coach Andrew Pitt welcome the opportunity to teach the course.

“I think personal finance is a class that should have been taught a long time ago because I know I would have benefitted as a student from having that class,” personal finance teacher Andy Pitt said. “We cover banking, insurance and taxes. If you do it with your money, then we talk about it in class.”

Currently, most students enrolled in the course are underclassmen, though Pitt said older students could benefit as well.

“I really think it would be beneficial if I had more seniors and 11th graders because they’re about to work jobs and need to think about what we cover,” Pitt said.

Changes have also been made to the science and math departments.

“The state Department of Education has published new standards for the 2025-26 school year that were completely different than the way the standards had been for a really long time, including the way we teach classes,” assistant principal Carrie Forrest said.

Under the new math pathway, students now take geometry before Algebra 1, with Algebra 3 removed from the curriculum. After that, students can choose between two routes.

One option includes a new career-oriented route involving “reasoning and mathematics” and “applications in mathematics.”

Science requirements have also been modified.

“Science changes came a few years ago, and when those standards rolled out, they decided to remove physical science, which had been offered at the ninth-grade level,” Forrest said.

Teacher Jared St. Charles, who teaches Earth science, said he enjoys helping students connect classroom learning to real-world experiences.

“I like talking about all of the aspects, like land mass and atmosphere, because it’s important,” St. Charles said. “We’re definitely going to have some bad weather, so it’ll be good for them to learn how and why that happens, and it really helps students apply what they learn to what they see in the world.”