Educators find much to debate at annual forum
By Bobby Bryant, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
Amid the discussions about paying S.C. teachers more, recruiting new teachers and keeping experienced teachers during the 2018 Education Forum in Darlington last week, one selling point for the profession rang clear:
“We’re off for Christmas for two weeks!” said Tim Newman, superintendent of the Darlington County School District.
The forum, an annual event sponsored by the Darlington County School District Leadership Council, gave dozens of educators a chance to hear local and state education officials field questions on subjects ranging from too much testing to teacher salaries to the state’s new school “report cards.” The event was held at the Mayo High School for Math, Science and Technology Conference Center.
Some highlights from the discussion, held Dec. 7:
Kimm Mack of St. John’s Elementary School noted that South Carolina’s average annual starting salary for teachers is $33,000, roughly $5,000 below the average starting salary for teachers nationally, “ranking us 47th in the nation.” State Rep. Jay Lucas, one of the panel members fielding questions, said it’s not really just a state issue, it’s a national issue. Another panel member, Darlington County school board chairman Jamie Morphis, noted that this also ties into other issues such as working environment, teacher development and signing bonuses.
Rhonda Bailey of Washington Street Elementary School asked the panel what their organizations were doing to address hiring new teachers and keeping experienced ones. Money is always going to be a factor in that, said Morphis. “The generation that is coming into teaching, I can assure you, they are paying attention to the money.”
Panel member Rainey Knight, a former Darlington County education superintendent and now director of special programs for the S.C. Education Oversight Committee, said she felt that the Darlington County School District does a good job with recruitment.
Christina Ewing of Carolina Elementary School told the panel “there is no doubt there are flaws” with the state’s new round of school “report cards.”
Panel member Emily Heatwole, director of governmental affairs with the state Department of Education, called the new and much more complex report cards “a learning experience for everyone” and said schools should use the data in the new school-by-school assessments. Darlington County’s Newman said the state’s “intent was good,” but objected to the way the report cards “label” schools as “below average,” “average” and the like.
Also during the forum, the Jimmy Newsom Signature Award was presented to CareSouth Carolina for the company’s contributions of basic dental care to hundreds of students.
The award is named for Newsom, a former county superintendent of education, and is given yearly to “an organization, company or individual that has made significant impact on education” locally.
In this case, as Newsom said, “It’s hard to concentrate on schoolwork when your teeth hurt.”
