South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ellen Weaver spoke recently to a gathering of Republicans at the First Monday Club, which is held every month at the Poinsett Club.
Weaver gave a brief overview of the state of affairs of K-12 education in the Palmetto State and discussed the goals that she is pursuing to improve student achievement.
Weaver said ahe prays “every day that we will be able to speak words of life and hope and promise into the lives of our students, into the lives of our teachers.”
Weaver said that there are several stakeholders in the state's education system – the federal government, the legislature, the state board of education, and the local school boards and superintendents.
Weaver, as state superintendent, has to concern herself with a variety of inputs – the General Assembly as it passes new laws, as well as different budget streams and different regulations from the state board and the federal government.
The state board of education consists of 17 members, 16 of which are appointed by the various legislative delegations and judicial circuits. One is appointed by the governor.
There are more than 1,200 K-12 schools throughout the state, as well as 85 districts. Over three quarters of a million students are served by more than 56,000 certified educators.
Currently, $12.6 billion is spent on K-12 education in South Carolina during the course of a school year. Average spending per student is over $17,000. This average varies widely between districts. Some districts spend as low as $11,000 per student, while others, such as in the Midlands, spend over $25,000.
Teacher starting salary in the Palmetto State has gone up from $32,000 in 2018-19 to $47,000 this school year. Weaver said that this is significant progress. “If we want to attract the best and the brightest to teach the next generation of South Carolinians we need to make sure that we are paying them competitively,” she said.
The media, according to Weaver, portrays South Carolina education as vastly underfunded. “We are not underfunded. I would say we are misfunded in many ways. It's all about how you spend that money,” she said.
Weaver said that many of those funding decisions are made locally. She praised the local school board members who were in the audience and said that it is important to have high-quality members on the local boards.
“The education system exists to advance student achievement. The education system cannot replace the family, the education system cannot replace the community,” said Weaver.
The goal is to see at least 75% of the students at or above grade level by 2030. Weaver referred to this goal as the '2030 Moonshot.' Currently, 54% of students are proficient in reading. Progress is being made but there is a long way to go, she said.
The picture in math is bleaker. Ground has been lost since 2016 but there is some recovery but there is still a long way to go, said Weaver. She attributes Governor Henry McMaster opening up the schools quickly during COVID for a smaller decline than in other states.
Weaver offered up four strategies to achieve these goals. First is to focus on foundational skills such as reading. “Reading is the foundation of all other skills,” she said, noting that 70-80% of the incarcerated population in the state is functionally illiterate.
In the last budget cycle the legislature has adequately funded K-3rd grade education to provide teachers with the tools to successfully teach reading, said Weaver. She said that several K-3rd teachers have gone through new training in teaching reading. The state is adopting high-quality instructional material in the science of reading. She has worked with the legislature to reboot the Read to Succeed Law. “You can't wait until they're in third grade to catch them up,” she said. “We need to be catching them up in second grade and in first grade and even in kindergarten.”
“There is a high correlation between low student performance and high poverty,” said Weaver. However, several such high poverty schools (Title One), she was pleased to note, are performing to the highest levels of excellence and expectation.” She said that they are focusing on the foundational skills and they have great principals. “Principal leadership makes or breaks a school. Great teachers like to work for great principals.”
The second strategy is to build up math skills, with a focus on high-intensity tutoring. Weaver said that the science shows that such tutoring is helpful in making up deficits in math learning.
The third strategy is to emphasize character education, teaching such soft skills as showing up on time, having integrity and keeping promises. The state is looking at a number of sources by people such as John Maxwell and Stephen Covey. Weaver noted that the Medal of Honor Museum, which is located on board the USS Yorktown in Charleston, has a curriculum as well that focuses on civic virtues such as patriotism, integrity and courage.
One area of student conduct that Weaver addressed was the use of cell phones. “One of the most practical things that I think we can do is get rid of cell phones during the school day,” she said to applause. The legislature has directed the state board and the department of education to come up with a policy, which will then go before the local boards for adoption.
“I'm happy to be the bad guy on this one,” said Weaver. “You can blame me when people come and complain to you about it.” She said that it is ludicrous to believe that students are learning when they are constantly being distracted. She further noted that teachers not only want to be paid more but they also want to be able to work in a safe environment where they can enforce discipline.
The fourth strategy is what Weaver refers to as a statewide community engagement program. State department of education employees are spending eight hours a month in classrooms. She wants to show educators that, although they are the regulators and have to enforce the law that they are also there to partner with and support them and to serve them.
“If we are complaining about things that are happening in our schools it's incumbent on us to step up and actually do something about it and not just yell and complain,” said Weaver.
Weaver also mentioned Project Raise Your Hand, which is an initiative to encourage members of the public to become involved in the education process as volunteers. Students need tutoring and mentoring. Teachers need classroom help. Volunteers are needed in lunchrooms. Bilingual people could help with language translation.
