YOUR TURN: “Bright Spots in SC Education” by Phil Noble
When it comes to education in our state, we expect bad news. We have all had that sinking feeling in the pit of our stomach when we pick up a newspaper or click on the local evening news and we see a story about education.
However, there is cause for celebration, really, because we have some ‘bright spots’ that prove we can do things right.
There are a lot of really smart folks who spend their time trying to figure out how to bring about breakthrough change and improvements – in education, in health care, in job creation, and in society in general. A common theme that runs through their work is to begin by focusing on what they call ‘the bright spots’, those examples of where things are done right, where progress is being made and where there are models that can be replicated on a larger scale.
There are many education bright spots in our state and here are just three big ones that we should all know about.
Two Top 100 High Schools – Recently US News and World Report magazine did a study of over one thousand top quality high schools in the country and came up with a list of the Top 100. South Carolina had two schools on the list; the Academic Magnet School in North Charleston was ranked 15th and the Governor’s School for Math and Science in Hartsville was 39th. Both of these schools had a 100% graduation rate and the average SAT score at the Governor’s school was ranked 2nd. That’s right, the average SAT score of a South Carolina high school was the second highest of these Top 100 high schools in the county.
Some skeptics will say that these schools are highly selective and they get lots of attention and they don’t really give a fair picture of what is possible. There may be some truth in this but these schools’ performance is still impressive.
No Excuses Schools – If you were making another type of list with the school districts in the state that had the most going against them, Darlington schools would be on it. The Poverty Index is a whooping 81%, yet their overall ranking on the State’s District Report Card for 2010 was 12th out of 85 school districts.
Overall, the district rating was ‘excellent’; they have a four-year graduation rate of 88% and the parents are deeply involved, with 95% of parents attending conferences with teachers. And it’s not just about money — per pupil spending was $8,779 in the Darlington district or $361 below the state media average.
These stats are for a whole school district and not just one school – and the difference has been leadership. The District’s Superintendent, Dr. Rainey Knight, has been providing strong leadership for eleven years and she has a ‘no excuses’ philosophy of education. Clearly, these kids have a lot going against them but Knight believes in expecting a lot from her students and providing the support they need to succeed, not excuses.
SmartState is Smart – In 2002, the SmartState program was created by the legislature to recruit top quality researchers at Clemson, USC, and the Medical University in Charleston in the hopes of spurring innovation, economic growth and jobs. It’s working. These schools receive state grants of $2-5 million in state lottery funds per school that must be matched by private dollars. The program has created over 40 endowed chairs and Centers of Excellence to lead research teams in such fields as biomedicine, automotive engineering, advanced materials, future fuels and nanotechnology. This seed funding has generated over $1 billion in investment and created 7,000 jobs.
In simple dollars and sense, the return on investment has been tremendous and the jobs they are creating are knowledge and tech jobs that are focused on the industries that will help make South Carolina competitive in the global economy of the 21st century.
Success breeds success and these bright spots, and lot of others in the state, give us something to build on and to be proud of. We can replicate and expand these successes to all parts of our state – especially in those school districts that have suffered the most from years of neglect.
If we as a state are smart enough to focus on these bright spots, then perhaps the next time you see an education story in the news, instead of your stomach sinking with sadness, it will flutter with excitement.
Phil Noble is a businessman in Charleston and President of the SC New Democrats, an independent reform group started by former Gov. Richard Riley. Contact Mr. Noble at www.SCNewDemocrats.org or phil@SCNewDemocrats.org.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the author are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CRESCENT: The Magazine.
