蜜桃影视

Education is at a Crossroads: Help Us Illuminate the Path Forward.听

COLUMBIA 鈥� The Williamsburg County school board will be able to start making decisions again with oversight from the state Department of Education, marking the first move toward regaining local control in six years.

The rural, county-wide district of 2,800 students 鈥� located in the Pee Dee between Sumter and Georgetown 鈥� has been under the state鈥檚 control since 2018, meaning the district Board of Trustees can meet but can鈥檛 make any decisions for the district.

The return of some power is the first step in returning control to the locally elected board members, according to a Tuesday news release.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to serve in the capacity the citizens elected us,鈥� said board Chair Marva Cannion, who was elected in 2019.

A report on the district鈥檚 improvements, which a state budget clause requires the state education agency to produce, could offer other poor, struggling school districts some insights into how they might boost performance and avoid a state takeover, Rep. Roger Kirby, D-Lake City, told the SC Daily Gazette on Wednesday. The directive in the state budget was his idea.

When the state first stepped in under then-state Superintendent Molly Spearman, the district was in dire straits financially and academically.

Officials had to repay more than $280,000 to the federal government and use another $368,000 to hire help in following federal spending and reporting requirements, at the time. Less than a quarter of all students could read on grade level, and even fewer third- through eighth-graders were passing their state-required math tests, according to state education data.

The district had been under notice for three years by that point, but little had changed, Cannion said. When Spearman declared a state of emergency and outlined the issues, Cannion agreed something had to happen, she told the Daily Gazette.

鈥淎t the time, it was warranted,鈥� Cannion said of the state takeover. 鈥淏ut it is now time, definitely, for local governance.鈥�

Improving grades

District officials thought they had hit the goals Spearmen set for them by 2022. The district鈥檚 finances were in order. The past several years of audits found no major issues. And students were improving academically, Cannion said.

When state Superintendent Ellen Weaver started her term last year, she gave a more specific benchmark. All eight of the district鈥檚 elementary through high schools needed to be rated at least 鈥渁verage,鈥� Cannion said the department told board members. As of 2022-2023, the district still had three schools falling behind that goal.

When the state for last school year, though, officials saw marked improvements.

The scores were enough for to receive at least an average rating, which takes into account student progress: Five received an 鈥渁verage鈥� rating, two were rated 鈥済ood,鈥� and one 鈥� an arts magnet middle school 鈥� rated 鈥渆xcellent,鈥� the highest possible.

Scores in every subject increased from the school year before. The largest jump was in the number of students passing their end-of-course Algebra 2 tests, which went from 20.7% to 59.2% 鈥� an increase of nearly 40 percentage points.

Improvements were even more significant when compared with scores during the 2017-2018 school year, the year before the state education agency took over.

On average, the percentage of third- through eighth-graders able to pass the end-of-year English test 鈥� showing they can read on grade level and are ready to advance 鈥� jumped from 24% to 42%.听 In the same group, 25% received passing math scores at the end of last school year, compared to 18% six years before.

Still, just in the district鈥檚 Class of 2024 were considered , while 60% met benchmarks for being prepared to enter the workforce.

Students鈥� performance remains below the state鈥檚 , showing the district has more work ahead of it. But the improvements are promising, Kirby said.

鈥淚t certainly is an indication that improvements are being made, but I don鈥檛 think anyone would argue there鈥檚 not progress to be done,鈥� Kirby said.

The state department will continue to monitor the district鈥檚 progress over the next year and will discuss next steps with district leadership when the 2024-2025 report cards are out, according to the news release.

How it happened

Monitoring student progress and helping those who lagged behind played a major role in improving test scores, said district Superintendent Kelvin Wymbs, who was hired by the state agency.

After the takeover, the district started assessing students weekly to check their progress, Wymbs said. Teachers could then use those scores to determine which students needed extra help.

Teachers shifted their focus to what is known as tiered instruction, grouping students based on their skill level and giving them different versions of the same lesson in an effort to make sure every student grasped the concepts being taught, Cannion said.

That gave students who were struggling smaller groups to work in, she said.

Beginning in 2022, the district started offering specialized classes for eighth- through 12th-graders who had to repeat a grade at any point and were not on track to graduate.

Students in the program, known as , could enroll in middle and high school-level classes simultaneously, with smaller class sizes than typical, in an effort to make up any credits they may have missed, according to the district.

鈥淭hese were students who may have been counted as dropouts,鈥� Cannion said.

Partnerships with outside groups have helped give students access to opportunities they wouldn鈥檛 otherwise have, such as that offers cybersecurity courses. That, in turn, encourages students to engage with their other schoolwork, Kirby said.

He credited Wymbs鈥� leadership in pursuing those sorts of opportunities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 those types of things that could create exceptional outcomes, innovative things that previously were lacking,鈥� Kirby said. 鈥淭here are new ideas that are yielding results that point to visionary leadership.鈥�

Part of the change came from a shift in culture, Cannion and Wymbs said.

Teachers and administrators tried to drive home a sense of ambition and confidence in students, more than 90% of whom live in poverty, Wymbs said.

鈥淥ur students are competent. They want to compete academically,鈥� Wymbs said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e done a good job of instilling the idea that poverty, your ZIP code, none of that matters if you really engage in what we鈥檙e trying to teach you.鈥�

The district also hired security officers and started using wands as metal detectors at school entrances in order to bolster security and students鈥� feeling that they were safe at school.

And a hired consultant helped officials come up with plans and coached teachers, especially the district鈥檚 growing population of teachers from other countries, Wymbs said.

鈥淚t comes down to personnel and having people who truly care about student success,鈥� Wymbs said.

What comes next

Other school districts, particularly those at risk of a takeover under state law, could use similar methods to improve their own academic performances, Kirby said.

Kirby鈥檚 proposal for the state budget directive came out of frustration from Williamsburg County鈥檚 board of trustees, who met with him. Inserted by the House during floor debate on the budget, it required the department to give legislators a report on why Spearman took over the district, what the state has done since then, and what specific benchmarks the district must meet to receive full governing powers.

The budget clause, which ended up in the state鈥檚 final spending package, was meant to give clarity to the school board, which was 鈥渢ruly almost in the dark for the past four years,鈥� Kirby said at the time.

The report is due by Jan. 1. It must be provided to legislators representing the county. The entire delegation consists of one senator and two House members, with Kirby representing the majority of the county.

The report should give district officials in Williamsburg County a more detailed idea of what to expect moving forward.听It could also help other districts understand what, exactly, the department considers success in struggling schools and what help is on the table, Kirby said.

Agency spokesman Jason Raven said the department offers extra support to districts underperforming academically to keep them from getting to the point of a state takeover.

Three districts 鈥渇acing potential takeover鈥� 鈥� Colleton, Jasper and McCormick counties 鈥� improved in their report cards this year, he said in an email.

, the former state superintendent, took over three failing districts in a . State law has authorized such takeovers of schools and entire districts since 1998, but no other superintendent had attempted to take control of so many.

The other two were , which remains under state control, and tiny Timmonsville (Florence 4), a district so small that all of its students were on one campus. State control ended there following a with neighboring Florence 1, the county鈥檚 largest school district, which includes the city of Florence.

Kirby said the agency鈥檚 report could give Allendale County officials a better idea of what benchmarks it needs to meet.

Without that information, Kirby鈥檚 not sure what must happen to improve rural districts鈥� performances, he said.

鈥淚鈥檓 anxious to see what the department is recommending,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat is their answer to this?鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. SC Daily Gazette maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Seanna Adcox for questions: info@scdailygazette.com. Follow SC Daily Gazette on and .

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