New school board members and officers sworn in for 2015
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
It’s a whole year with new faces and new officers for the Darlington County Board of Education, as new board members Maureen Thomas, Wanda Hassler, Dr. Thelma Dawson, and Billy Baldwin were officially administered the oath of office by Darlington County Clerk of Court Scott Suggs at the Monday, January 12th meeting.
The board voted unanimously to elect Connell Delaine as the board Chair, Warren Jeffords as Vice Chair, and Charles Govan as Secretary.
Superintendent Dr. Eddie Ingram made special note of the successful commute to school during the frigid weather the week before, with bus drivers getting the buses warmed up in plenty of time to pick up the children.
Ingram also pointed out the Robotics/STeM Initiatives going on in the district to board members.
Darlington Middle School
• LEGO Robotics Team Competition
• School Magnet Program (Project Lead the Way)
• GOOGLE sponsored computer science club
Brockington Elementary School
• LEGO Robotics Team Competition
• Robot Wars (the entire school)
Spaulding Middle School
• LEGO Robotics Team Competition (8th Grade)
• STeM Related Arts – partnership with OTIS Elevators (6th Grade)
Rosenwald Elementary/Middle School
• Windmill Project – partnership with DCIT
Darlington High School
• Robotics Course (during and after school sessions)
Carolina Elementary School
• Robot Building Initiative – partnership with S.C. Governor’s School
St. John’s Elementary School
• Robotics afterschool program (3rd Grade)
Hartsville High School
• Advanced Engineering Courses offered via PULSE Program –
partnership with S.C. Governor’s School and Coker College
Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology
• Advanced Course Offering – Physics III (incorporates engineering skills)
Darlington County Institute of Technology
• Advanced Course Offerings – coding and programming
The board voted to approve the following policy items for first reading with no discussion:
A. Policy IHA/IHA-R- Basic Instructional Program
B. Policy IHAA- English/Reading/Writing/Language Art Education
C. Policy IHAB-Mathematics Education
D. Policy IHAM- Health Education
E. Policy IHBH- Charter Schools
F. Policy IHD- Adult/Community Education
G. Policy IJNDAA/IJNDAA-R- Distance, Online and Virtual Education
H. Policy IKF-R- Graduation Requirements
The next regular meeting of the Darlington County Board of Education is scheduled for February 9, 2015 at 6:00 p.m. in the board/community conference room at the Darlington County School District Administrative Annex I in Darlington on Pearl Street.