TIMMONSVILLE, SC (WBTW)  – Florence School District 4 leaders met Thursday night to hear feedback from representatives from the South Carolina Department of Education.

The meeting was just weeks after State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman declared a State of Emergency for two schools in the district.

At Thursday night’s meeting, district leaders discussed several changes, with the biggest change being a new member sitting at the head of the table.

Just two weeks after Dr. Andre Boyd was removed from his seat as Florence District Four Superintendent, a new face took his place at this month’s board meeting, with one goal in mind.

“We must move forward so that our children can have every opportunity,” said Florence School District Four Interim Superintendent Dr. Zona Jefferson.

In her new role, Dr. Jefferson will work with representatives from the South Carolina Department of Education to create a new vision for the district.

“We have to establish that one focus that everybody is going to be driven. We’re going to establish a mantra that this is what Florence Four should look like, this is what we want for our students,” said Jefferson.

That vision was given to district leaders Thursday by State Education Department representatives.

It emphasizes student engagement, establishes a strong literacy environment in every classroom, and implements professional learning programs for teachers.

District leaders say those are the immediate recommendations for Johnson Middle School and Brockington Elementary, the two schools that were declared in a State of Emergency by State Superintendent Molly Spearman.

“I think we’re going to recover pretty rapidly because we have the right person, right time, right plan,” said Chairman Richard Hodges with Florence School District Four Board of Trustees.

Jefferson says the original plan was to dismiss all school employees and start over.

Instead, they chose to have the leaders from the State Department of Education assess every teacher, and those who passed the assessment, will keep their jobs.

At Thursday night’s meeting, district leaders said they can already see a change in both the teachers and the students in less than a month.

Leaders from the South Carolina State Department of Education will continue to report progress at each monthly board meeting.