165 replies to this topic

[krazeeboi]

Every state has its own separate report. Check it out and see how accurate you think it is.

[distortedlogic]

These articles are all very good news for us, but unfortunately most people will never see them. The old reputation is still out there in full force, and all you ever hear about is how terrible our system is. Even the news stations love to harp about how far behind we are, and how we don't measure up. I hear people who have lived here for many years, newcomers, and even school teachers who talk about how awful our school system is. Is it possible to change the rep? I suspect that many of the positive changes that have been made over the last few years will not show up much until many years. It is kinda like a football team getting a new coach. It takes several years to get his people and system in place, and only then will you really see the changes. This is similar but on a much longer and grander scale. But the articles go to show, once again, that you have to read between the lines. Just like saying that teacher salary is among the lowest in the nation. But then you also have to realize that cost of living is among the lowest. This is where a cost of living/annual income index would be helpful.

[krazeeboi]

You make great points. I would not advocating lowering proficiency standards just to inflate numbers, which would result in higher rankings, but it might be worth it to tweak the way we report our numbers. Also, it all depends on what is actually being reported; people just don't take enough time to read between the lines and comprehend just what a particular report/ranking is actually saying. The SC Indicators Project somewhat helps in that regard. But as they say, perception is everything.

[monsoon]

SC has always had some very good public school systems in the state, but that was overshadowed by a lot of very bad systems which is where the bad rep came from in the first place.    It's been a long time since I attended public school in SC, (far enough back to have attended segregated schools) so I don't know if it is still the same way now.  When I attended college, I was definately at a disadvantage coming from the Horry county school system as compared to those from say Richland and it was a lot of hard work for me to catch up.    

Speaking of segregation, when they integrated the schools in SC in the fall of 1970, a large number of private schools were created in the State.     I know there was one in both Conway and Myrtle Beach and I am aware that most other cites of that size and larger had at least one.   (they were pretty small towns in those days).   These schools were expensive to attend so they tended to drain away the most well off demographic from the public school system which hurt the public schools greatly during this period.    

A lot of these schools still exist and their scores are not included in SC rankings.  And their presence still hurts the state.   For example, a few years ago, I went to visit a friend in Bishopville.   I learned that basically in that town, they have managed to maintain segregation because most of the white well off students attend Robert E. Lee Academy, and everyone else attends the public school there.   The public school, I was told was not very good.    So while SC has excellent schools in its major cities, its the places like Bishopville that really hurt.

I am not sure how how the state should go about trying to fix problems like that in the Bishopville example because a lot of how well a public school system functions depends upon how well the leaders of the city support it.  And when they have checked out, positive change is difficult.

[Spartan]

I have heard of that. I know a friend of a friend who went to Robert E Lee Acadamy. You really can't do anything about it, since its a private school and a public school except for improving the public school. That kind of segregation is incredibly unortunate, but it also points out how bad our rural schools are in SC. Thats definately our biggest problem in this state, and one of the most challenging.

[Greenville]

I saw a television show recently about families who live in inner-city Philadelphia.  The parents wanted their kids to have the best education possible, but they also worried that their children are being sheltered from the diversity and "real world experience" that tend to exist more in public schools.  Although the factors are different in Philadelphia than they are somewhere like Bishopville, the considerations remain very similar.  It puts parents in this situation in a tough position, as education as well as a wide range of exposure to people of different backgrounds (an education of sorts itself) are both extremely important.  And of course, what about the majority of families who can't afford private school and are forced to send their children to these sub-par public schools?

Edited by Greenville, 06 June 2006 - 09:35 PM.

[krazeeboi]

Never thought about the role private schools play in all of this. Very good points.

[krazeeboi]

A pretty good op-ed piece:

College study ranks state’s K-12 system in the middle nationally

[krazeeboi]

Since this thread has evolved to a discussion of the subject of public education, I move that the name of this thread be renamed "Public Education in SC."

In other news, Morgan Quitno has released its 2006-2007 Smartest States ranking. And we rank.....26th (3rd in the South, with VA at 6th and NC at 23rd), up three places from last year's ranking. This seems to corellate with the study I posted in the above posting quite well.

[krazeeboi]

House Speaker Bobby Harrell is proposing a $16 million plan under which LIFE scholars who are studying math, science or engineering would receive an additional $2,500 per year, for a total of $7,500. Palmetto Fellows with technology majors would receive an additional $3,300 per year, for a total of $10,000. The grant would start in their sophomore year.

Backed up by representatives from BMW, Michelin, Roche Pharmaceuticals, BellSouth and the Savannah River Site, Harrell said he aims to create an incentive for more of the state’s best and brightest students to remain in South Carolina and enter professions that will promote economic development in the state.

[knightrider162]

krazeeboi, on Dec 15 2006, 12:29 AM, said:

House Speaker Bobby Harrell is proposing a $16 million plan under which LIFE scholars who are studying math, science or engineering would receive an additional $2,500 per year, for a total of $7,500. Palmetto Fellows with technology majors would receive an additional $3,300 per year, for a total of $10,000. The grant would start in their sophomore year.

Backed up by representatives from BMW, Michelin, Roche Pharmaceuticals, BellSouth and the Savannah River Site, Harrell said he aims to create an incentive for more of the state’s best and brightest students to remain in South Carolina and enter professions that will promote economic development in the state.

Thank God, thats just in time!!! Clemson is expensxive..

[krazeeboi]

It's definitely a good thing, particularly in connection with ICAR and Innovista. However, a part of me wonders if this will simply hasten the exodus of our young, bright minds to neighboring states.

[Spartan]

That is good news indeed. The USC is become more expensive as well. Tuition hikes are a problem everywhere, though Clemson has made more news with its lately. Thankfully grad school tuition hasn't increased!

[krazeeboi]

Education Week ranked the state 41st in the latest national evaluation of public school quality, policies, and socio-economic conditions. The state, credited for having the nation’s best testing standards, was hurt by the nation’s lowest high school graduation rate, comparatively low family incomes and high rates of joblessness, among others.

The observations are included in an annual study, Quality Counts, that Education Week coordinates in an attempt to provide an apples-to-apples comparison of the nation’s K-12 education systems.

Although the state fell below the national average on more than half of the 13 Chance-for-Success measures, the state still made gains. South Carolina has, according to the report, the nation’s best “standards, testing and accountability system” (ranked #1 in that category). And the state ranked 11th in education alignment policies, meaning South Carolina is doing a good job of making the transitions from pre-kindergarten to college seamless.

The entire report can be accessed here (PDF file).

[GvilleSC]

The SC education lottery supports public education in the state. I was looking at the appropriation of funds by county and found the amount per county was rather interesting.

The money is distributed based on a formula established by the legislature.

Charleston County (all 8 districts combined)
enrollment: 48,500
funds: $24,913,195

Greenville County
enrollment: 65,287
funds: $17,518,499

Lexington County
enrollment: 49,807
funds: $17,424,747

Richland County
enrollment: 24,000 + Richland 2 (couldn't find the number)
funds: $20,394,808

Spartanburg County
enrollment: 27,400 + Spartanburg 2 (couldn't find the number)
funds: $15,451,099

I'd sure like to see this formula that has sent $7million more to Charleston County than to Greenville County, which is not only the state's largest district, but also the fastest growing district adding over 1,300 students last year. Lexington has almost received the same amount of money as Greenville and it's about 16,000 students less... Can anyone shed some light on this?

Edited by GvilleSC, 06 January 2007 - 09:56 PM.

[krazeeboi]

Seems like the formula would have been found on the same site the figures came from.

I bet performance probably has something to do with it. Public schools in Lexington and Greenville counties tend to do better than most, so that may be why they get less money. That's just a guess.

I know one thing: we need some more money allocated for higher education. NC spends over $12K per student in terms of higher education, compared with SC's paltry $4K.

[Charleston's Son]

krazeeboi, on Jan 6 2007, 11:16 PM, said:

Seems like the formula would have been found on the same site the figures came from.

I bet performance probably has something to do with it. Public schools in Lexington and Greenville counties tend to do better than most, so that may be why they get less money. That's just a guess.

I know one thing: we need some more money allocated for higher education. NC spends over $12K per student in terms of higher education, compared with SC's paltry $4K.

I'm leaning more towards to what the previous poster stated.  Unfortunately, Charleston County Schools perform poorly on tests across the board.  Strides are being made for sure, but there is more work to be done.  I suppose the state funnels more money down here in hopes of improving the dire situation in our schools.  On paper, the best schools here are East Cooper and there are some others scattered "making the grade" according to the standards set forth, but this is very debatable.  Don't get me started on that topic.  However, I wonder if this is historically true, that is, Charleston schools receiving more money than other major school districts?

Edited by Charleston's Son, 14 January 2007 - 12:37 AM.

[MikesLogic]

North Charleston Wants Out Of County School District

This is pretty bad, it doesn't say in the article but I would like to know exactly what the problem for the North Charleston officials is.

Quote

Whatever they are talking about, it can't be funding. Stall high school is one of the schools folks complain about in North Charleston, but it receives $2000 more per student than do Wando High School students, and $1600 more than West Ashley High School students.  North Charleston High School also receives more funding.

But whatever angers those in North Charleston, it's been brewing for a while. The council already had one meeting with Goodloe-Johnson.

I saw in an article the other day that 4 of the 5 largest public schools in SC are in the Charleston metro.  Not enough funding for more schools or what?

[Spartan]

I think they would be hardpressed to get a new district, especially when the Governor is talking about consolidation in the counties with too many districts. I'm interested to see what their problem is, because its usually a money related issue- and in this case that seems to be a null and void issue.

[Spartan]

So what do you think of Jim Rex's plan for our education system? He has proposed a lot of changes. These are just a few of them as quoted from the P&C:

"Increasing teachers' salaries, giving additional incentives to teachers who teach in high-poverty schools, altering the state's school funding formula and changing standardized testing"

Post & Courier
The State


I am all for it. I think the incentives for teachers in high poverty areas is a great idea, and also increasing teacher pay in general to be more in line with North Carolina and Georgia.