Cradle-to-Career Fellowship Site Visit

 

We look forward to seeing you in Spartanburg—affectionately known as Sparkle City or Hub City—South Carolina! 

Our site visit will serve as an opportunity for the Cradle-to-Career Partnership Leaders cohort and the EdRedesign team to reconnect in person and deepen the relationships we've built throughout the program. Together, we'll explore how cross-sector collaboration and diverse strategies can drive progress toward shared community goals. Through on-the-ground learning and reflection, the partnership leaders will examine how strategy translates into sustained neighborhood action, drawing lessons and best practices to accelerate impact in their own communities.

Please find important event details, pre-reading, and information below. 

This video, produced by Joe Posner and James Watson, recaps our first October 2024 convening and provides a sense of the power and magic of the Fellowship. 

Event Timing and Location

Attendees are invited to join us on Monday, October 17th, at the AC Hotel Spartanburg for an optional welcome reception for those already in town from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. The site visit will officially begin at 9:00 AM (breakfast and registration will be available starting at 8:00 AM) on Tuesday, October 28th, on the 2nd floor of the AC Hotel. From there, the visit will take us to several Spartanburg locations, including: 

As the site visit will involve traveling to multiple locations, we will be providing bus transportation between sites. It will be important for attendees to pay close attention to meeting times.

The site visit will end on Thursday, October 30th, at 1:00 PM.

Attire and Packing Recommendations

The attire for the site visit is casual, workplace-appropriate attire, with the following exceptions:

For the community tour on Wednesday, October 29th, please plan to wear casual attire and represent your community with shirts, hats, or other community swag. We also recommend packing a tote or bag and a water bottle, as we will frequently be changing locations. There will be a few stretches with short and flat walks, so we also recommend comfortable footwear.

For the reception the evening of Wednesday, October 29th, the Piedmont Club has an enforced dress code that you must follow for entrance: 

  • Men: Gentlemen are required to wear a jacket in all areas of the Club. Ties are not required.
  • Women: Suits (including business pantsuit), dress or blazer with skirt or tailored slacks, or tailored pants with a blouse or sweater are acceptable.
  • Prohibited: T-Shirts, sweatshirts, or other shirt without a collar; athletic attire, tennis shoes, shorts, jeans (regardless of value), denim jackets, untucked shirts, and baseball caps.

Hotel

Attendees who requested lodging are booked to stay at the AC Hotel Spartanburg for the duration of the site visit. Reservations are for check-in on Monday, October 27th, and check-out on Thursday, October 30th, unless you noted a modification in your registration.

All guests should have already received their hotel reservation confirmation email directly from the AC Hotel. Please double-check that the details and dates of your stay are correct, especially if you requested modifications. Please email Shoshana at shoshana_zuckerman@gse.harvard.edu if you have any questions about your hotel stay or need to make reservation changes.

Please note that additional nights or guests, as well as any incidental expenses, are your responsibility.

Please be aware that a $35 per day incidental hold will be placed on your card at check-in. The total hold amount will be immediately authorized based on the number of nights in your reservation. If no incidental charges are incurred, the hotel will release the hold upon checkout. If you would like to have a card on file prior to your arrival, please contact Sarah Keim (sarah.keim@marriott.com) for instructions. The on-file payment method can be used during checkout for any extra or incidental expenses not covered by EdRedesign.

Transportation

Airport
We will be providing shuttles to and from the Charlotte and Greenville airports on Monday, October 27th and Thursday, October 30th at scheduled times. Shuttle times and groups will be finalized the week of October 21st. If shuttle times don’t map to your arrival or departure, Lyft codes will be available for your use.

Fellows, EdRedesign staff, and Fellowship Working Group members will receive Lyft code vouchers to cover their ground transportation from their home to the airport for departure and for the return trip from the airport to their home. Lyft codes will be provided the week of October 21st.

General
Transportation to and from the AC Hotel Spartanburg will be provided for all activities included on the agenda. 

Flight Modifications

For those whom EdRedesign assisted in covering travel costs, flights were coordinated with and officially authorized through The Travel Collaborative. If you need to change or cancel your flight following official authorization, please contact Rosanne McGoldrick at The Travel Collaborative. She can be reached at rmm@travelcoll.com. 

Wi-Fi and Technology

Wi-Fi access will be available at AC Hotel Spartanburg for hotel guest rooms and in the event meeting space, as well as at the Spartanburg Academic Movement offices. Wi-Fi might not be available during our community visits. Attendees are asked to please bring their laptop or tablet with them on Tuesday, October 28th, and Thursday, October 30th.

Meals and Dining

The following meals will be provided during the convening.

  • Optional Welcome Reception: Monday, October 27th, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Guests who wish to have a full dinner are encouraged to make plans for this evening.  
  • Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and beverages: Tuesday, October 28th, through Thursday, October 30th.
  • Tuesday, October 28th Dinner: Fellows will attend an off-site small group dinner. All other guests are encouraged to explore Spartanburg for dinner on their own.
  • Dinner Reception: On Wednesday, October 29th, a plated dinner will be held from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at the Piedmont Club. Please note the Piedmont Club’s dress code, which is detailed above.

Press and Photography

Most sessions during the visit will be photographed, and photographs may be made publicly available online. Attendees signed a media/photo release in the event registration, consenting to being recorded and photographed.

Press may be present at the evening reception.
 

View the Agenda

We encourage you to explore the following resources: 

View Speaker Biographies

View Participant List 

Please read the following: 

Please watch the following: 

Please complete the following: 

This pre-work will help you prepare to share a meaningful Story of Us during our storytelling session in Spartanburg.

Please review the Public Narrative Framework here.

  • Read the Public Narrative Worksheet (7 pages)
    • Pay close attention to The Story of Us section (pages 4-5)

Reflect on Key Shared Story Moments (the Us)

  • Story moments allow others to feel an experience with you. To bring others into the moment and make it come alive, you must be specific and create imagery using time, setting, mood, color, sound, texture, taste, and your other senses.
  • For our session in Spartanburg, your "Us" is your Cradle-to-Career Fellows Cohort—the community of peers who have learned, grown, and led alongside you in this fellowship— or the community/team that makes most sense for you and your current role.  

Begin by reflecting on the core values that your "Us" embodies and shares. Then, capture in writing 2-3 moments (using visual imagery and specificity) that illustrate those values in action—moments that capture the spirit of your collective experience. 

Look for times when your group's connection was visible and felt by all—shared laughter, applause, tears, standing in support, or a flurry of emojis and messages in the virtual chat. These physical responses are evidence that a moment was shared by the "Us."

You may choose to write, type, or record brief notes—whatever helps you preserve the details of each moment so you can refer to and use them during our session.

Fellows should have received an additional learning journal to complete their pre-work and use during the site visit via email. If you have any questions, please reach out to Denisse Arias denisse_arias@gse.harvard.edu. 

View Social Media Kit 

Day 1: Tuesday, October 28th

Day 3: Thursday, October 30th

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