Follow the KC Robotics Team

The Kershaw County Robotics Team is competing in Myrtle Beach this weekend…Follow the team in the link below….

http://myrtlebeachfirstrobotics.com/Home.aspx

Camden Elementary Patriot Night At The Kershaw House

Really had a good time last night at the Camden Elementary fourth grade Patriot Night, which was held over at the Joseph Kershaw House.  Because the event was held at nightfall and the the house was lit with candles, it truly seemed like Colonial times.  This event is part of the “Why America is Free” curriculum.  I particulary enjoyed Mr. David Reuwer playing Jospeh Kershaw.  He was great!  I’m very sure that the students will remember this event for many years.  Kudos the the fourth grade teachers!  A fantastic event!!

Writing At Doby’s Mill

Every year, Doby’s Mill teacher Teresa Reno invites me to come do a writing lesson with her third graders.  It is always a great time, and yesterday was no exception.  I was so impressed with how much these students knew about the writing process, their excellent vocabulary, and their creativity.  We wrote together the first three paragraphs of a story based on a picture.  I can’t wait to read how each student finishes the story!  A lot of fun!!!

Ted Monroe Honored

I was happy and honored to be present at last night’s County Council meeting, when Lugoff-Elgin Middle School wrestling coach Ted Monroe was honored for his service and accomplishments as coach of the Leopards.  Ted’s accomplishments in terms of wins and championships speak for themselves.  What to me stands out most about Ted is what an outstanding role model and teacher of important life lessons he has been for countless athletes.  A richly-deserved recognition!

Superintendent of Education Candidate Websites

Websites for the Superintendent of Education candidates…

Republicans

Atwater, Sally – http://www.atwaterforeducation.com
Burgess, Gary – http://burgessforsc.org
Childs, Meka – http://www.mekachilds.com
Cofield, Amy – http://www.amycofield.com
Few, Sheri – http://sherifew.com
Jordan, Don – http://www.jordanforsupe.com
Moffly, Elizabeth – http://www.elizabethmoffly.com (Incomplete)

Spearman, Molly  – www.mollyspearman.com

Democrats
Anthony, Mike – http://anthonyforeducation.com
Belton, Montrio – http://montriobelton.com

Common Core Article

I thought this was a very thoughtful article…

http://www.micahlauer.com/?p=532

Science Projects At Camden Elementary

I had an absolutely great time this morning judging Science Fair Projects at Camden Elementary.  The quality and variety of the projects were excellent!  I was particularly impressed with how well students used graphs and tables to show the results of their experiments.  I saw some very sophisticated stuff!  Great job!  I really appreciated the invitation to participate!

2014 Heritage Tea

The Heritage Tea was as always a wonderful celebration of Black History Month and an equally wonderful celebration of student work.  I have been very impressed over the past few years at the increased quality, depth, and variety of the projects recognized.  The entertainment, which included the Kershaw County Diamonds Step Team and the combined choirs of Midway Elementary and Pine Tree Hill Elementary, was also terrific.  The speaker, Mr. James L. Solomon, gave a very inspiring talk about the Civil Right Movement.   Many thanks to the Cultural Arts Committee of the Fine Arts Center for making this important community event possible.  Special kudos to Tim Hopkins and Alisa Goodman from the district staff for their tremendous work with this event.  I also want to highlight the wonderful singing of Dr. Connie Long from the district staff, which added so much to the program.  A really good day!

Legislative Update – February 21, 2014

It was a busy week at the state house as the House Ways and Means Committee adopted the initial version of the 2014-2015 appropriation bill.  Next week, the bill will be printed and placed on the House Member’s desk the following week.  The House floor budget deliberations will start the week of March 11.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Starting on Tuesday, February 18^th and continuing through Thursday, February 20^th, the House Ways and Means Committee adopted the initial version of the 2014-2015 appropriation bill.   An overview of our K-12 allocation is as follows:

$2,120 for 2014-2015 Base Student Cost (BSC)

Reading Coaches: $29.4 million (Proviso is below)

Digital Instructional Materials: $12 million

K-12 Technology Initiative:  $29.2 million

School Bus Fuel and Maintenance: $5.6 million

School Bus Purchase: $12 million

Instructional Materials: $6.9 million

SCDE Virtual Instruction Program: $742,500 plus 11 FTEs

Charter Schools: $56.2 million total ($13.7 million new money); $4 million for revolving loan program for buildings

State Health Plan: Employees will see slight increase in co-pay; state will cover employer increases.

To view all of the adopted provisos, click on the link, http://www.scstatehouse.gov/committeeinfo/Ways&MeansMeetingHandouts/MeetingHandouts.php , then click on the Public Education and Special Schools line under any of the dates.  You may also retrieve the spread sheets which are located under the February 20^th heading.

Adopted provisos of note:

 1.3. (SDE: EFA Formula/Base Student Cost Inflation Factor) To the extent possible within available funds, it is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for one hundred percent of full implementation of the Education Finance Act to include an inflation factor projected by the Division of Budget and Analysis to match inflation wages of public school employees in the Southeast. The base student cost for the current fiscal year has been determined to be $2,120. For the current fiscal year, the total pupil count is projected to be 708,231. The average per pupil funding is projected to be $5,290 state, $1,154 federal, and $4,996 local. This is an average total funding level of $11,440 excluding revenues of local bond issues. For the current fiscal year the South Carolina Public Charter School District and any institution of higher education sponsoring a public charter school shall receive and distribute state EFA funds to the charter school as determined by one hundred percent of the current year’s base student cost, as funded by the General Assembly multiplied by the weighted students pupils enrolled in the charter school, which must be subject to adjustment for student attendance.

The Budget and Control Board, Research and Statistics Division, must post in a prominent place on their website for each school district projections, including the per pupil state, federal and local revenues, excluding revenues of local bond issues, for the current fiscal year. Also, as soon as practicable, upon determining the exact numbers regarding pupil count and funding, the Budget and Control Board, Research and Statistics Division, shall also post on their website the 135-day average daily membership for each school district and per pupil state, federal and local revenues, excluding revenues of local bond issues, based on the most recent audited financial statement as reported annually pursuant to Section 59-17-100. The Department of Education and the Education Oversight Committee shall provide in a prominent place on their internet websites a link to the information posted by the Budget and Control Board, Research and Statistics Division, including the projected numbers and the exact numbers.

For the current fiscal year, the pupil classification weightings are as follows:

(1) K-12 pupils or base students including homebound students …………………………………….. 1.00

(2) Weights for students with disabilities as prescribed in Section 59-20-40(1)(c) Special Programs

(3) Additional weights for personalized instruction:

(A) Precareer and Career Technology ……………………………………………………………. 1.20

(B) Gifted and Talented ………………………………………………………………………………… 0.15

(C) Academic Assistance ………………………………………………………………………………. 0.15

(D) Young Adult Education ……………………………………………………………………………. 0.20

(E) Limited English Proficiency …………………………………………………………………….. 0.20

(F) Pupils in Poverty ……………………………………………………………………………………. 0.20

Students may receive multiple weights for personalized instruction; however, within each weight, students should only be counted once. These weights are defined below:

Gifted and talented students are students who are classified as academically or artistically gifted and talented or who are enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in high school.

Students in need of academic assistance are students who do not meet state standards in mathematics, English language arts, or both on state approved assessments in grades 3 through 12. The additional weight generates funds needed to provide additional instructional services to these students.

Young adults are students between the ages of 17 and 21 who are pursuing a high school diploma, a high school equivalency diploma (GED), or a work readiness skills credential through a public school adult education program and are no longer part of the regular school setting.

Students with limited English proficiency are students who require intensive English language instruction programs and whose families require specialized parental involvement intervention. Students in poverty are students eligible for the free or reduced price Federal lunch program and/or are eligible for Medicaid.

 

 1.83. (SDE: Reading Coaches) (A) Funds appropriated for Reading Coaches must be allocated to school districts by the Department of Education as follows:

1) for each elementary school in which twenty percent or more of the students scored Not Met on the reading and research test in the most recent year for which such data are available, the school district shall be eligible to receive the lesser of either $62,730 or the actual cost of salary and benefits for a full-time reading coach; and

2) for each elementary school in which fewer than twenty percent of the students scored Not Met on the reading and research test during the same period, the school district shall be eligible to receive the lesser of either $31,365 or fifty percent of the actual cost of salary and benefits for a full-time reading coach. A school district must provide a 1:1 local match for each state dollar provided under this paragraph.

(B) By accepting these funds, a school district warrants that they will not be used to supplant existing school district expenditures. A district, may, however, assign a reading coach to a primary school rather than to the elementary school to improve the early literacy skills of young children.

(C) Funds appropriated for Reading Coaches are intended to be used to provide elementary schools with reading coaches, who shall serve as job-embedded, stable resources for professional development throughout schools in order to generate improvement in reading and literacy instruction and student achievement. Reading coaches will support and provide initial and ongoing professional development to teachers in each of the major reading components, as needed, based on an analysis of student performance data. Reading coaches may also provide similar services relating to the administration and analysis of instructional assessments and the provision of differentiated instruction and intensive intervention. Specific services offered by a dedicated reading coach may include but are not limited to:

1) modeling effective instructional strategies for teachers;

2) facilitating study groups;

3) training teachers in data analysis and using data to differentiate instruction;

4) coaching and mentoring colleagues;

5) providing daily support to classroom teachers;

6) working with teachers to ensure that research-based reading programs are implemented with fidelity;

7) helping to increase instructional density to meet the needs of all students;

8) helping lead and support reading leadership teams at his or her school;

9) continuing to increase his or her knowledge base in best practices in reading instruction, intervention, and instructional reading strategies;

10) working with all teachers (including content area, and elective areas) in the school he or she serves, prioritizing time for those teachers, activities, and roles that will have the greatest impact on student achievement, namely coaching and mentoring in classrooms; and

11) at a minimum working weekly with students in whole and small group instruction to supplement classroom learning.

A reading coach must not:

1) be assigned a regular classroom teaching assignment;

2) perform administrative functions that will confuse their role for teachers; or

3) devote a significant portion of his or her time to administering or coordinating assessments.

(D) No later than August 1, 2014, the Department of Education must publish guidelines that define the minimum qualifications for a reading coach for Fiscal Year 2014-15. These guidelines must deem any licensed teacher qualified if he or she:

1) holds a bachelor’s degree and an add-on endorsement for literacy, or

2) holds a master’s degree in reading or a closely-related field. Within these guidelines, the Department of Education must also establish a process for Fiscal Year 2014-15 through which an elementary school may be permitted to use the allocation granted under subsection (A) in order to obtain in-school reading coaching services from a department-approved consultant or vendor, in the event that the school is not successful in identifying and directly employing a qualified candidate. The provisions of subsection (A), including the local match requirements, shall also apply to any allocations made pursuant to this paragraph.

(E) The Department of Education must develop procedures for monitoring the use of funds appropriated for Reading Coaches to ensure they are applied to their intended uses and are not redirected for other purposes. The Department of Education may receive up to $100,000 of the funds appropriated for Reading Coaches in order to implement this program, provided that this allocation does not exceed the department’s actual costs.

(F) Prior to the close of the current fiscal year, any remaining funds for Reading Coaches, but no more than $5,000,000, shall be distributed by the Department of Education among the school districts containing elementary or primary schools that were eligible for and which elected to receive funding under subsection (A)(1) of this proviso; these funds shall be distributed in proportion to these districts’ relative shares of students who scored Not Met on the research and reading test in the most recent year for which such data are available. Funds distributed under this subsection must be used exclusively to support reading-related professional development for teachers.

(G) The Department of Education shall require:

1) any school district receiving funding under subsection (A) to identify the name and qualifications of the supported reading coach; and

2) any school district receiving funding under subsection (F) to account for the specific amounts and uses of such funds.

(H) Funds appropriated for Reading Coaches shall be retained and carried forward to be used for the same purpose.

 1A.3. (SDE-EIA: XII.B – Half Day Program for Four-Year-Olds) Funds Of the funds appropriated in Part IA, Section 1, XII.B. for half-day programs for four-year-olds, up to $2,500,000 must be allocated for the administration in the current fiscal year of a formative assessment or assessments that will analyze the early literacy competencies of children in public prekindergarten and kindergarten so that students may receive the appropriate support and intervention to succeed in school. The assessments must be approved by the State Board of Education. Professional development and teacher training must be provided by the department. The remainder of the funds shall be distributed based on the prior year number of students in kindergarten eligible for free and reduce price lunch to school districts that are not participating or not eligible to participate in the Child Development Education Pilot Program.

 

1.77. (SDE Digital Instructional Materials) Utilizing the funds appropriated for digital instructional materials, the Department of Education shall determine a per pupil amount using the prior year’s 135 ADM. These funds shall be make available to all school districts using the following procedure:

(1) The Department of Education shall create a digital instructional materials list composed of those items which have been requested by the districts and that have received Board approval.

(2) Districts may request that the State Board of Education review digital instructional materials for inclusion on the list when the material has been reviewed by the district, received approval by the local board of trustees for use in its district and been found to reflect the substance and level of performance outlined in the state adopted grade specific educational standards, contain current information, and are cost effective.

(3) Within thirty days of receiving the request, the State Board of Education must approve or disapprove the district’s request. Those materials receiving approval shall be placed on the department’s approved digital instructional materials list. Once items are placed on the approved list, all districts may choose items from that list;

(4) On a form provided by the department, a district may request an allocation by denoting the number of students, grade level, and subject for which the digital materials will be used. Districts may only request digital materials in one subject area and may not receive textbooks for the students using digital materials in that subject area; and

(5) Digital Instructional Materials shall include the digital equivalent of materials and devices. 

District requests must be submitted to the State Board of Education for consideration no later than August fifteenth of the current fiscal year. Any funds appropriated for digital instructional materials which have not been encumbered by January fifteenth, shall be distributed to school districts which have no previously received an allocation. These districts shall receive a per pupil allocation which must be used for technology infrastructure needed to prepare the district for using digital instructional materials. These funds shall not be subject to flexibility. 

1.79. (SDE: Summer Reading Camps) For the current fiscal year, funds appropriated for summer reading camps must be allocated as follows: (1) 20% to the Department of Education to provide bus transportation for students attending the camps; (2) $700,000 to support community partnerships whereby local Boys and Girls Clubs or other community organizations would collaborate with local school districts to provide after school programs or summer reading camps that utilize volunteers, mentors or tutors to provide instructional support to struggling readers in elementary schools that have a poverty index of 50 percent or greater. The Education Oversight Committee will document and evaluate the partnerships and the impact of the partnerships on student academic success and make recommendations on the characteristics of effective partnerships and on methods of duplicating effective partnerships throughout the state; and (3) the remainder on a per pupil allocation to each school district based on the number of students who scored Not Met 1 on the third grade reading and research assessment of the prior year’s Palmetto Assessment of State Standards administration. The reading camps must provide an educational program offered in the summer by each local school district for students who are substantially not demonstrating reading proficiency at the end of third grade. The camp must be six to eight weeks long for four or five days each week and include at least five and one-half hours of instructional time daily. The camps must be taught by compensated, licensed teachers who have demonstrated substantial success in helping students comprehend grade-appropriate texts. Schools and districts should partner with county or school libraries, community organizations, faith-based institutions, pediatric and family practice medical personnel, businesses, and other groups to provide volunteers, mentors, tutors, space, or other support to assist with the provision of the summer reading camps. In addition, a district may offer summer reading camps for students who are not exhibiting reading proficiency in prekindergarten through grade two and may charge fees based on a sliding scale pursuant to Section 59-19-90 of the 1976 Code, as amended.

1A.58. (SDE-EIA: South Carolina Success Program) From the funds in specific appropriations Assessment/Testing, the Department of Education shall issue a request for proposal to provide a statewide South Carolina Success Program, a program to be available to all public school districts and open-enrollment charters in the State of South Carolina. The department may use up to $3,500,000 of the local assessment funds for this program. For Fiscal Year 2014-15, school districts of this state may use assessment funds for the South Carolina Success Program, as piloted in the previous fiscal year, to students in the district. This program shall provide academic support to students and teachers to help ensure on grade level achievement in reading by making available for grades PreK-8 an online-delivered, interactive reading assessment and research-based intervention program for use both at school and at home. This online program must automatically place students into an individualized on-line curriculum and instruction, provide teachers and administrators with immediate reporting, provide recommendations for interventions and teacher lessons, and provide small group instruction lessons. The program must provide computer adaptive assessments at least eight times per year, and teachers, principals, and districts must have immediate on-line reporting to identify those students who are not reading on grade-level and those that are at risk of failing the state reading assessment pursuant to Section 59-18-310 of the 1976 Code, as amended. The program must make available to parents reporting and resources regarding student participation via a home portal.

 

1.im (SDE: Instructional Materials Flexibility Pilot Program) The Department of Education may use funds appropriated for instructional materials to conduct the Instructional Material Flexibility Pilot.  The Instructional Materials Flexibility Pilot will consist of up to sic school districts admitted to the program by a process defined by the Department of Education.  Districts participation in the pilot will opt out of the state system for receiving instructional material in order to be allowed to receive a direct allocation of funds for instructional material per the terms defined through the pilot.

On Tuesday, February 18^th, the House K-12 Education Subcommittee met and reviewed the following bills:

 H.4419 (Teacher/Principal Evaluation) The bill creates a new system to evaluate the effectiveness of teachers and principals.  The subcommittee heard an hour long presentation by Michelle Rhee.  After much debate, the subcommittee, on a 6-1 vote adjourned debate on the bill.

On Wednesday, February 19^th, the Full House Education and Public Works met and reviewed the following bills:

H.3428 (First Steps) The bill was a strike and insert and reauthorizes the First Steps to School Readiness Initiative.  After much discussion and, the bill received a favorable report and will go to the House floor.

H. 3994 (Read to Succeed Act) The bill would create the South Carolina Read to Succeed Office in order to take a comprehensive, systematic approach to student reading performance.  It also requires the Department of Education, with approval by the State Board of Education, to create and have a State Reading Proficiency Plan in place by January 1, 2015.  Beginning in 2015-1016, each district must prepare a comprehensive annual reading proficiency plan for Pre-K through twelfth grade. The State Superintendent of Education shall ensure that every student entering the public schools for the first time in prekindergarten and kindergarten will be administered a readiness assessment by the forty‑fifth day of the school year. Beginning with the 2017-2018 school year, a student must be retained in the third grade if the student fails substantially to demonstrate third‑grade reading proficiency at the end of the third grade. A student may be exempt for good cause from the mandatory retention but shall continue to receive instructional support and services and reading intervention appropriate for their age and reading level.

Beginning in 2015‑2016, early childhood and elementary education licensed classroom teachers are required to earn the literacy teacher add-on endorsement within ten years of their most recent certification by taking at least two courses or six credit hours every five years, consistent with existing recertification requirements. Beginning in 2015‑2016, middle and secondary licensed classroom teachers are required to take at least two courses or six credit hours to improve reading instruction within five years of their most recent certification. The courses must be approved by the State Board of Education and include courses leading to the literacy teacher add-on endorsement. Coursework in reading must include a course in reading in the content areas. Only licensed teachers who have earned a master’s or doctorate in reading, who have earned a literacy teacher add-on endorsement, or who have completed an intensive, prolonged professional development program like Reading Recovery or another program as approved by the State Board of Education in regulation are exempt from this requirement. After much discussion, the committee adjourned debate on the bill.

 

SENATE

On Wednesday, February 19^th, the Senate Education K-12 Subcommittee met to discuss pending state board regulations and bills, including a joint resolution addressing snow days and proposed legislation about Common Core.

H.4576 (Snow days) The joint resolution waives the requirement for schools to make up full days missed due to inclement weather for up five or fewer days.  The subcommittee amended the bill to say that a district must first use the make-up days it has in place before becoming eligible to waive any others.  After much discussion, the bill will go to the Full Senate Education Committee.

S.300 (Common Core) The bill removes the Common Core standards in the state. Senator Mike Fair introduced a strike and insert hybrid amendment that takes out the language prohibiting Common Core, while adding new standard and assessment stipulations. After much discussion the bill was carried over by the subcommittee to allow time for feedback.

Sen. Fair’s amendment includes:

–Standards developed by the State Department of Education (SDE) must be approved by the State Board and Education Oversight Committee (EOC). Standards taken from other sources/outside the state must also receive approval from the General Assembly.

–The SDE and EOC must notify the General Assembly and Governor of any plans to change existing standards.

–The state must review and approve a new English and math assessment for students in grades 3-8.

–All eleventh graders will be given a career and college readiness assessment.

–Scores on new assessments cannot be used to rate schools until the 2016-2017 school year, and it is recommended that the state also delays using the scores for teacher evaluations.

–The state exit exam is eliminated, and allows students under the age of 21 who previously failed to receive a diploma solely for failing to pass the exit exam may petition their local school board to receive a diploma.

—-Beginning in 2016, the state will perform a cyclical review of ELA and math standards not developed by the state.

–The state is prohibited from providing individual student data to the federal government of any third party without permission from the General Assembly.

The Senate K-12 Subcommittee will meet on Wednesday, February 26, at 9:00 AM, in 105 Gressette.  The meeting will be available via Live Broadcast and it can be assessed by going to the South Carolina Legislature web site at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/.  Please monitor for any changes to the meeting, and to access the Live Broadcast link. 

The subcommittee also discussed repealing the following proposed five regulations by the State Board of Education:

Regulation 43-162—School Superintendent Compensation and Benefits/Expenses was carried over by the subcommittee. This regulation states that the superintendent of a district must be paid a higher salary than paid to principals or members of the staff.  After some discussion, the regulation was carried over to the next subcommittee meeting in order to obtain more information.

The following regulations were found favorable for repeal by the subcommittee, and will be sent to the full Senate Education Committee for approval:

—Regulation 43-244—Interscholastic Activities. This regulation prohibits competitive, varsity-like sports with scheduled games and championships for grades 1-6. The Board of Education found that there is no specific state statute that authorizes this regulation.

—Regulation 43-243.4—Utilization of General Teacher Certification. This regulation allows that anyone holding a generic teaching certificate by the state is allowed to teach students with mild educational disabilities. This type of certificate is no longer issued by the state, and therefore the regulation is no longer needed.

–Regulation 43-500—Operation and Funding of Teacher Training Courses in Mathematics, Science, Reading and Computer Education. This addresses a program established to encourage that special courses in the four fields mentioned above are offered for teachers in grades 1-12. The specifics of the program are not longer practiced by the agency.

–-Regulation 43-201.1—Teacher Grants. The regulations provide guidelines for the teacher grants program—however, the program is no longer funded, and therefore the regulation is not necessary.

VFW Awards Banquet

Each year, I am happy and honored to be invited to the Roberts-Dixon Post 5928 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Awards Banquet.  I am proud that the Post honored Ms. Mary Catoe from Doby’s Mill and Ms. Sherry Lee as Teachers of the Year.  It was also great to see Tyler Muckenfuss and Abi Dixon from North Central Middle honored for the “Patriot’s Pen” competition.  (Kudos to NCMS teacher Erica Peake for her work with these students!)  A great evening of celebration and fellowship!