Tuesday, March 29, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Ebinport School Improvement Council Wins 2016 Riley Award for Excellence #myrhsdstory #makingscproud
SC School Improvement, Council
University of South
Carolina College of Education
Center for Educational Partnerships
820 Main Street,
Suite 001, Columbia, SC 29208
803-777-7658 or 800-868-2232 (Toll-Free)
sic@mailbox.sc.edu http://sic.sc.gov
"Civic
Engagement in Public Education"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Saturday,
March 19, 2016
Contact: Tom F.
Hudson, Executive Director, SC School Improvement Council
W: 803-777-7658
C: 803-603-9141 hudsontf@.mai lbox.sc.edu
Ebinport Elementary SIC named winner of 2016
Riley Award for School Improvement Council Excellence
COLUMBIA - The School Improvement Council
(SIC) of Ebinport Elementary School in Rock Hill School District Three has been
named the recipient of the 2016 Dick and Tunky Riley Award for School
Improvement Council Excellence.
The award was presented Saturday afternoon
during the SC School Improvement Council (SC-SIC) Annual Meeting at EdVenture Children's Museum in Columbia.
The annual Riley Award for SIC Excellence
was created in 2002 to recognize the significant contributions made to public education by the nearly 15,000 School
Improvement Council members who volunteer in every public school in the state.
The award is named in honor of the former SC Governor and US Education Secretary and his late wife, and recognizes the couple's
longstanding commitment to quality public education.
"The Ebinport Elementary SIC has done
some outstanding work in the area of literacy that is well-deserving of this
statewide recognition,"' said SC-SIC Board of Trustees Chair Michael
Guarino. "When parents, educators,
students, and community members come together as a School Improvement Council,
identify the needs of their school, and take meaningful
steps to meet them, it has a lasting and impact for our schools, their
students, and their families."
Presented with Honorable Mentions for their
work last school year were: H.E. McCracken Middle School SIC (Beaufort County School District); Jennie Moore
Elementary School for the Creative Arts SIC (Charleston County School
District); Laing Middle School for Science and Technology SIC (Charleston County School District); and South Florence High School
SIC (Florence Public School District One.)
Brief descriptions of the work of this year's
Riley Award winner and Honorable Mention SICs are included with this release.
A core partner of the Center for Educational
Partnerships at the University of South Carolina College of Education, SC-SIC was established in state law nearly 40
years ago to provide the member training, technical assistance, statutory accountability, and operational
resources vital to the continued success of the community-based School
Improvement Councils in each of the state's 1,100-plus K-12 public schools.
—###—
2016 Finalists
SC School Improvement Council Dick and Tunky Riley Award for SIC Excellence
2016 WINNER -
Ebinport Elementarv School SIC - Rock Hill School District Three
This SIC made improvements to ongoing programs and implemented new
initiatives in several areas of focus. The SIC's literacy projects include an Eagle
Eyes buddy mentor program that pairs 4th and 5th graders with
kindergarteners who start school with below average readiness in reading.
Teachers report that participating kindergarteners show increases in letter identification and other literacy-related
skills and that both mentors and mentees benefit from the experience. In partnership with local businesses, the SIC
established five "Little Free Libraries" in low income areas within
its school's attendance zone, giving students easy access to leveled reading
books during evenings and weekends. In the area of student health, the SIC
continues to work with school staff to sustain the teaching garden established
by the SIC. Led by an SIC
member/Master Gardener, all students have an opportunity to learn, touch, and
taste their work every spring and fall through activities that are aligned with
SC classroom standards. After a review of school climate data indicated that
both staff and students were noticing
behavioral issues that disrupted learning, the SIC collaborated with the school
on a Social and Emotional Learning
pilot project targeting students' social and emotional skills. The SIC is
continuing to spearhead the expansion of this effort and is actively
working to share information about the program with other SICs in its district.
2016 FINALIST - H.E.
McCracken Middle School SIC - Beaufort Countv School District
After a period of inactivity, a new school administration and several
committed SIC members have breathed new life into this SIC and sparked
impressive growth in SIC membership. The SIC selected two areas of focus:
family and community engagement and school safety. The SIC worked to increase
parent capacity to engage in their children's education through a series of four Parent
Universities attended by approximately 300 parents. The series consisted of
approximate 50 breakout sessions on issues such as school culture, teen
behavior, drug and gang trends, school of choice options, and college preparation. Many of
these sessions were led by community partners. The SIC also partnered with its
school's PTO in sponsoring 'Student of the Month," recognitions for students and
their families during monthly SIC meetings. Concerns regarding school
safety led the SIC to institute an annual inspection of the school building and
grounds by SIC members and students. During its first inspection, the SIC
identified structural damage to the overhang outside the bus loop that, once
reported, received immediate attention from the district. In response to
concerns expressed by parents and staff, the SIC also initiated an advocacy campaign
that has resulted in several changes to lessen hazards associated with
overcrowded and aging buses and to decrease wait time and unsafe student
crossings in the car line.
2016 FINALIST - Jennie
Moore Elementarv School for the Creative Arts SIC - Charleston Countv School
District
As its school prepared to move to a new building, this SIC renewed its
commitment to integrated arts education. An SIC committee conducted a classroom needs
assessment and formed an arts education steering committee that successfully
applied for a Strategic Arts Planning Grant through the SC Department of
Education. The SIC committee also developed partnerships with organizations such as
"Engaging Creative Minds," that brings local artists into the
classroom and the Charleston
Museum, which is partnering with JME teachers to create "traveling
trunks" filled with materials to supplement classroom instruction at JME and other Charleston district schools. At
the same time, the SIC continued to build and improve on existing SIC
communications initiatives such as monthly informal meetings between parents
and administrators, and its
"Welcome Wagon" of information and outreach to new families. The SIC
also partnered with its feeder middle school's
SIC to develop a "Bridge" transition program for 5th graders and
their parents. In addition, the SIC focused on building healthy habits and safety skills for students through
initiatives such as the annual bike rodeo (in partnership with MUSC's Safe Kids), a bike/walk to school day, a
bike/walk safety poster contest, and, in partnership with Safe Routes to
School, maps of safe bike/walk routes to school.
2016 Finalists,
Riley Award for SIC Excellence (continued)
2016 FINALIST - Laing
Middle School of Science and Technology SIC - Charleston County School District
This SIC focused on building community partnerships and spreading the
word about their school's accomplishments in science and technology. The SIC worked
to educate families and the community through an evening of events that
included a "Meet and
Greet" with local school board candidates, a debate among the candidates
for state Superintendent of Education, and
an information session on an upcoming school bond referendum. To build
partnerships with local businesses,
the SIC invited business leaders to have lunch and tour the school during STEM
builds. This program, called "At Our
Table," resulted in the donation of STEM supplies such as safety glasses,
pvc pipe, and caps so that more students could actively participate in STEM builds rather than just watch and record
results. The SIC also worked together with its feeder elementary school's SIC
to develop a "Bridge" transition program for 5th graders and their
parents. Finally, the SIC worked to ensure its school was recognized by the
media and state legislators upon its winning recognition as one of the top STEM
programs in the nation.
2016 FINALIST - South
Florence High School SIC - Florence Public School District One
This SIC organized much of its work within the framework of an action
plan it developed with the assistance of a representative of the National Network of
Partnership Schools (NNPS). In the area of academic achievement, the SIC wrote a
successful grant proposal to fund the purchase of USA TestPrep resources
for Algebra 2 students and sponsored a workshop for families at which students
showcased their work and teachers explained the importance of Algebra 2. The SIC's NNPS plan also
called for initiatives to promote two-way communication with families such as a
series of dinners and educational family sessions that were held at a
subsidized housing community center, home visits, and an additional school "open house" during the spring
semester. It also collaborated with the National Alliance for Mental Illness to
provide a course for families and the
community addressing behavioral and emotional challenges faced by children and
adolescents. In addition, an SIC search for additional scholarship monies
resulted in a donation from the alumni association that allowed five seniors to attend summer school and graduate
that year. Finally, the SIC partnered with alumni, the parent/teacher/student
association, the athletic booster club, and student organizations to raise the
$7,500 needed to paint the school motto ("Simply the Best") and
school logo on a water tower overlooking the campus.
The
annual Dick and Tunky Riley Award for School Improvement Council Excellence was
created in 2002 to recognize the significant contributions made to public
education by the nearly 15,000 School Improvement Council (SIC) members who volunteer
on the more than 1,100 SICs across South Carolina. The Riley Award is named in honor
of former
SC Governor and US Education Secretary Richard Riley and his late wife, Tunky,
and recognizes the couple's longstanding commitment to quality public education.
A core
partner in the Center for Educational Partnerships at the University of South
Carolina College of Education, the SC School Improvement Council (SC-SIC) was
established in state law nearly 40 years ago to provide the member training,
technical assistance, statutory accountability, and operational resources vital
to the continued success of the community-based School Improvement Councils
serving each of South Carolina's K-12 public schools.
South Carolina School
Improvement Council
"Civic
Engagement in Public Education"
USC College of Education, Suite 001, Columbia, SC 29208
803-777-7658 800-868-2232 http://sic.sc.gov
USC College of Education, Suite 001, Columbia, SC 29208
803-777-7658 800-868-2232 http://sic.sc.gov
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
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