Children and adults were excited for the grand opening of the School District of Pickens County’s Academy for Early Learners the afternoon of Friday, July 31, 2026. Educators and district leaders were joined by Betty Garrison, Shannon Haskett, and Karla Kelley of the Pickens County School Board of Trustees, as well as State Senator Rex Rice, State Rep. Phillip Bowers, parents, and additional guests.

The two-hour event opened with a 30-minute concert by the Sweet Potato Pie Kids, the performing band of the Young Appalachian Musicians (YAMs), inside the Pickens County Career and Technology Center, adjacent to Liberty Primary School on Chastain Road.

Following the concert by the Sweet Potato Pie Kids, Traci Boyles, the Pickens County School District’s Executive Director of Early Childhood Education, welcomed everyone and shared about experiential learning. Additional leaders who spoke were Pickens County School District Superintendent Dr. Danny Merck, Bergen Hashemian, Director of Client Relationships at Huckabee (an architecture firm in Texas who partnered with the School District and Triangle Construction), and Sarah Pfeiler, Education Consultant with Exhibit Concepts and a former teacher.

Everyone then walked over to Liberty Primary School, and, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the rotunda, guests toured the four new immersive classrooms (Watch Us Grow, Our Backyard, Our Community, and Our World) that are meant for pre-school children to learn through playing and exploring.

Below, view 123 photographs by The Pickens County Chronicle from the special day.

For more information about the Academy for Early Learners, visit the School District’s website at https://www.pickens.k12.sc.us/page/preschool-programs.