SREB and South Carolina
SREB and South Carolina
An overview of SREB programs and services and how South Carolina participates in them.
Appropriations from member states support core SREB services. SREB leverages the longstanding commitment of member states to attract external funding for additional programs and services that benefit member states. States may also choose to join targeted networks for additional fees.
Policy
Goals for Education | Monitoring State Policies
Monitoring and reporting to assist education leaders and policymakers as they shape public policy. SREB tracks trends and analyzes the progress of all 16 SREB states in each area in the Challenge to Lead 2020 Goals for Education and provides Legislative Reports that detail legislative and budget actions in each state.
SREB’s Insights data tool allows leaders to explore actions across states, delve into a topic for a deeper understanding or select a detailed state report.
College and Career Readiness
Intensive work to help states implement essential components of SREB’s recommendations for statewide college and career readiness. These include assessing high school juniors to determine their progress toward the state’s readiness standards — and requiring those who are underprepared to take transitional courses in 12th grade.
Readiness in State Accountability Systems
SREB’s benchmarking team distilled key elements of SREB states’ accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Acts into interactive profiles at Insights.SREB.org.
PUBLICATIONS
In October 2018, SREB updated the state profiles and published a regional report on five ways SREB states prioritized readiness in their ESSA plans.
South Carolina’s profile notes the state’s efforts to raise expectations for college and career readiness through its long-term goals and school performance indicators.
In October 2018, SREB staff presented information from the reports at SREB’s annual meeting of legislative and governors’ staff. Five stakeholders from South Carolina attended.
Between April 2017 and January 2018, SREB hosted monthly conference call meetings of a state accountability network, for SREB member states to share ideas and discuss questions about redesigning and implementing state accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Three state education agency leaders from South Carolina participated.
Career and Technical Education
State Leaders Forum
Annual meeting for teams of legislators, policymakers, state board members, secondary and postsecondary education leaders, and workforce development agency representatives. Attendees explore policies and practices that help more young adults graduate prepare for postsecondary credentials and degrees and good jobs.
South Carolina attendees at SREB’s State Leaders Forum in November 2017: 7
Educator Effectiveness
Advises state and district leaders as they develop strategies to support the professional growth of teachers and principals. SREB serves as a technical advisor to state education agencies, spotlights inspiring stories of local practice and convenes stakeholders at regional meetings.
Technical Assistance
SREB supported the development and implementation of South Carolina’s educator effectiveness strategy by funding school and district administrator trainings, developing online professional learning modules, and working with districts to create long-term professional learning strategies.
In May 2018, SREB staff provided technical assistance to Greenville County Public Schools staff who are leading the implementation of the district’s educator development strategy. SREB staff shared recommendations for improving local educator effectiveness strategies.
SREB staff meets with state department staff in Columbia in November 2018 to advise them on the development of their teacher evaluation system. SREB conducted focus groups with district administrators, principals and teachers. SREB produced a report for state department staff that shared site visit and focus group findings, as well as recommendations for improving the implementation of the state’s educator effectiveness strategy.
Staff responded to two information requests from South Carolina stakeholders in the last 12 months. Constituents requested SREB analysis related to teacher recruitment and retention, leadership development and school climate.
convenings
The state department sent representatives to SREB’s Sixth Annual Educator Effectiveness Convening in April 2018. They participated in collaborative working sessions with peers from 12 SREB states. State department staff met to discuss shared problems of practice in four areas: equitable access to effective teaching, leadership development, professional learning and teacher voice.
SREB staff presented on innovative ways to expand student access to high-quality instruction to state lawmakers who attended SREB’s Legislative Advisory Council Winter Meeting in November 2017.
reports and data
SREB produced the following resources for South Carolina leaders during the last 12 months:
School Is My Happy Place, May 2018, which showcases the innovative strategies used to develop a positive school culture at an elementary school in central Florida.
Mentoring New Teachers: A Fresh Look, January 2018, which proposes three action areas for states, districts and schools to support the development of novice educators and their mentors.
Teacher Preparation
SREB’s Teacher Preparation Commission met during 2016, 2017 and 2018 and will publish its final recommendations to improve teacher preparation programs in late 2018.
The Commission published its first report, More than the Numbers: Teacher Preparation Data Systems State Policy and Recommendations, in September 2017.
Postsecondary Education
Affordability
SREB’s Commission on College Affordability in the South recommended policies and practices to keep college costs within reach of all students. In addition to Commission’s report, policymakers can draw on updated regional and individual state affordability profiles to understand how costs impact families at different income levels.
SREB convened state higher education agency academic officers in October 2017 to discuss factors that impact college affordability. Attendees learned from each other about new policies for tuition, fees, financial aid, transfer, textbook costs, online courses, collaboration with K-12, readiness, and serving returning adults. A representative from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education participated.
SREB assisted South Carolina policy staff requests for information on a range of postsecondary financial aid issues, student debt, health fees, tuition discounting and technical assistance with higher education planning.
State Services
Connects policymakers with custom information, presentations and assistance on education issues as they arise. Leaders in member states are encouraged to contact SREB for data, analysis and advice.
SREB staff visited South Carolina to meet with legislators and staff, and attend committee meetings in 2018.
Throughout 2017-18, legislators, legislative staff and governor’s staff from South Carolina requested assistance on topics including higher education data, transition courses, digital learning, alternative instruction delivery, school finance, students with dyslexia, school finance, and school safety and climate.
Meetings
South Carolina staff were among those from 8 SREB states at the 2018 meeting of legislative and governors’ staff from across the SREB region to discuss topics that will likely be on agendas during upcoming legislative sessions.
South Carolina legislators were among those in attendance at the 2017-18 meetings of SREB’s Legislative Advisory Council and Legislative Work Conference.
Curriculum and School Improvement
Advanced Career
Nine pathways that combine college-ready academics with hands-on, project-based assignments that spark students’ learning and interest in STEM careers. Each four-course AC pathway prepares students for advanced industry credentials and two- and four-year postsecondary credentials and degrees.
South Carolina schools delivering AC curricula during 2018-19:
- Aerospace Engineering: 7 schools
- Clean Energy Technology: 3 schools
- Global Logistics & Supply Chain Management: 2 schools
- Health Informatics: 1 school
- Integrated Production Technologies: 2 schools
- Teachers trained to date: 21
Readiness Courses
Ready for High School Courses
Courses that help eighth- and ninth-graders master the literacy and math skills they need to complete a college-ready academic core and pursue challenging career pathway programs in high school. Ready for High School Literacy and Ready for High School Math can be offered in the eighth or ninth grades.
Number of South Carolina teachers who attended Ready for High School trainings in 2018-19:
Ready for High School Literacy: 8
Ready for High School Math: 3
Ready for College Courses
Courses that help juniors and seniors master literacy and math skills before they transition from high school to postsecondary education and the workplace. In Literacy Ready, seniors develop and defend ideas from texts in diverse subject areas and write about those texts at a college level. Math Ready develops critical thinking and math reasoning skills and engages seniors in applying math to solve real-world problems.
Number of South Carolina teachers who attended Ready for College trainings in 2018-19:
Literacy Ready: 5
Math Ready: 1
Readiness Course Awards
SREB Ready Certified School – Platinum-Level Certification
Whale Branch Early College High School
Seabrook, South Carolina
Whale Branch Early College High School in Seabrook, South Carolina, was recognized as the first SREB Ready Certified School, Platinum Level, in July 2018.
Making Schools Work
A school improvement process developed by SREB that engages K-12 educators and school leaders in identifying and studying problems of practice, implementing research-based solutions to those problems, and learning within a collaborative network of schools. Schools adopt Making Schools Work through designs for middle grades schools, high schools and technology centers.
South Carolina is a member of the Making Schools Work network. Sixty-one districts will participate in the network in 2018-19.
Advisory Council Member: Angel Malone, CATE director, Office of Career & Technology Education, South Carolina Department of Education
State Coordinator: TBA
Schools, districts and states contract with SREB to implement Making Schools Work and receive targeted school improvement services such as professional development, instructional coaching and technical assistance.
Six South Carolina districts contracted with SREB for direct services in 2018-19.
SREB will deliver 43 days of on-site coaching and on-site professional development in these districts.
Fourteen South Carolina technology centers contracted with SREB for direct services in 2018-19.
Professional Development
For Teachers, Principals and Counselors
Making Schools Work Conference
Annual conference, formerly known as the High Schools That Work Staff Development Conference, for K-12 teachers, counselors, principals, technology center directors and state and district education agency personnel.
South Carolina attendees at the July 2018 conference: 718
College- and Career-Readiness Networking Conference
Conference that focuses on literacy and mathematics tools and strategies. Teams of educators and school leaders explore disciplinary literacy strategies and formative assessment lessons that engage students in math.
South Carolina attendees at the July 2018 conference: 145
Go Alliance Academy
Strives to increase the postsecondary education and career success of all students by providing timely and relevant professional development in college and career readiness to school counselors, teachers, principals, career coaches and college access advisors.
South Carolina is one of 16 member states and one of the six founding states.
Go Alliance Academy Representative: Karen Woodfaulk, Director of Student Affairs, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
Learning-Centered Leadership Program
Leadership preparation program that develops current or aspiring principals’ capacity to serve as effective instructional leaders who understand how to use data to locate and close gaps.
South Carolina attendees at the 2018 Annual Leadership Forum: 4
National Technology Centers That Work Leaders’ Forum
Forum for state and local career and technical education leaders to discuss the role of full- and shared-time technology centers. Teams of center and school leaders, teachers and education and industry partners build action plans.
South Carolina attendees at the 2018 National TCTW Leaders’ Forum: 16
Project-Based Learning in Career Pathway Courses
System of professional development, job-embedded coaching and virtual support that helps academic and CTE teacher teams design project-based assignments in middle grades schools, high schools and technology centers.
Twenty South Carolina teachers and administrators from nine schools, agencies or districts received project-based learning professional development, coaching and support services in 2017-18.
Teaching to Lead
Teacher preparation program that helps professionals from business and industry become career and technical education teachers. Intensive professional development and coaching supports teachers in planning instruction, engaging students, managing classrooms and designing standards-driven assignments.
One district in South Carolina will participate in professional development and training in 2018-19.
Postsecondary Education
Academic Common Market
A tuition-savings program for college students in SREB member states who want to pursue degrees not offered by in-state institutions. Students can enroll in out-of-state institutions that offer their degree program and pay the in-state tuition rates.
During calendar year 2017, 2,130 degree programs were available, 152 institutions participated and 3,355 new students were certified for study.
In 2017, 121 South Carolina students participated in Academic Common Market, saving, on average, $8,910 each and a collective total of $1,087,018 in tuition.
ACM State Representative: Saundra E. Carr, Academic Common Market Coordinator, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
Regional Contract Program
Gives students the opportunity to earn a professional health degree from participating institutions in other states through in-state tuition rates at public institutions, or reduced tuition at private institutions. More than 600 students participate each year.
Participating students from South Carolina: 115
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
A nationwide system to offer more high-quality distance education programs for students and ease the regulatory burden on institutions. SREB member states may opt in to offer distance education activities in other SARA states. By participating, colleges and universities in the SREB region save almost $30 million annually.
South Carolina is an approved member of SARA.
Colleges and universities in South Carolina saved $5.6 million for initial authorization and save $1.6 million annually on renewals, according to estimates in a return-on-investment study by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
South Carolina SARA Representative: Clay Barton, Licensing Program Coordinator for Postsecondary Institution Licensing Academic Affairs, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
Fact Book and Data Exchange
Fact Book
The SREB Fact Book on Higher Education is a compilation of comparative data on topics including demographics; college enrollment, retention, progression and graduation; tuition and fees; student financial aid; state support for postsecondary education; and faculty salaries. The Fact Book is published bi-annually, but the data are updated annually and made available on the SREB website.
South Carolina leaders receive the SREB Fact Book on Higher Education and South Carolina: Featured Facts From the SREB Fact Book on Higher Education.
SREB-State Data Exchange
An annual collection of postsecondary education data that are submitted by representatives (i.e., Data Exchange coordinators) of postsecondary education system offices. The data collected include degrees conferred, student retention and progression, time to degree, student credit hours taken by high school students and by college students in courses using distance education technology, state funding for postsecondary education, and tuition and fees.
SREB State Data Exchange tables are posted on the SREB website.
South Carolina’s participating agency and SREB-State Data Exchange coordinator: Mary (Mim) Armour, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
Council on Collegiate Education for Nursing
Helps expand and strengthen schools of nursing to reduce the critical shortage of nurse educators needed to educate the nation’s registered nurses. The Council surveys institutions for nursing education trends and shares online graduate nursing courses.
As of October 2018, five South Carolina institutions are members, listed here with their representatives to the Council:
Charleston Southern University: Andrea Meir, Dean
Clemson University: Kathleen Valentine, Director
Medical University of South Carolina: Linda Weglicki, Dean
University of South Carolina – Aiken: Thayer McGahee, Dean
University of South Carolina – Columbia: Jeannette Andrews, Dean
Doctoral Scholars Program
Supports minority students to help them earn Ph.D.s, begin careers at colleges and universities, and diversify campus faculties. The SREB-State Doctoral Scholars Program hosts the annual Institute on Teaching and Mentoring, the nation’s largest gathering of minority doctoral scholars, with more than 1,200 attendees.
Scholars funded by South Carolina in 2017-18: 33
2017 Institute attendees from South Carolina: 39
Scholars South Carolina has supported since joining in 1993: 127
Graduates since 1993: 85
Graduates currently employed: 78
Percent employed in education: 78
South Carolina-supported Ph.D. students have attended these institutions since 1993:
Clemson University
Medical University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Virginia
Interstate Cooperatives
Technology Purchasing Savings
Schools, universities and agencies in SREB states saved $3.3 million on more than $33 million in technology purchases during fiscal year 2017 — double the FY2016 savings — through SREB’s participation in MHECtech discount agreements. Organizations in each of the 16 SREB states participated.
South Carolina saved $155,759 on $1,574,900 in technology purchases in fiscal year 2018.