TransformSC Announces Three New Network Partners
The 2018/2019 school year opens with the Pickens County Career and Technology Center, SC Whitmore School, and Richland County School District Two joining the TransformSC network. The two new schools and additional school district bring the statewide network to a total of 7 entire school districts and 67 schools from across the state.
TransformSC is an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness that collaborates with business leaders, educators, students, parents, and policymakers to transform the state’s public education system so that every student graduates prepared for college, careers, and citizenship.
As a part of the TransformSC network, SC Whitmore School, Pickens County Career and Technology Center, and Richland County School District Two have demonstrated tangible efforts to apply innovative approaches to achieving the Profile of the SC Graduate for every student, every teacher, every classroom, every day; and all have expressed a commitment to continuing that work as a part of TRSC.
The Pickens County Career & Technology is the first technology center to join the TRSC Network and represents the continuous diversification in the schools and education centers that are joining the network. Ken Hitchcock, Director of the Pickens County Career & Technology Center, says that his institution anticipates building on the foundation already laid through their previous engagement with TransformSC to make a positive impact on the communities they serve, saying, “The initiatives we have developed through TRSC will greatly benefit our students, local industry, and Pickens County economic development efforts. Our goal is to produce a high-quality adaptive future workforce for Pickens County and the Upstate Region of South Carolina.”
John Loveday, principal of SC Whitmore School, also anticipates their partnership with the TRSC network will help support the institution’s mission to provide students across South Carolina with the opportunity to experience what SCWS refers to as “School Your Way.” “Being a South Carolina based virtual school allows SC Whitmore School the opportunity to offer students a student-focused, self-paced learning environment where they can meet their full potential. Through a mastery-based learning model our students are able to accelerate and graduate high school earlier and begin college and careers, or take the time they need to catch up,” says Principal Loveday. “Our involvement with the TRSC network will help us build on that foundation, learn from colleagues, and share some of the insights we have gained through our focus on transformative practices in education.”
From a district-level perspective, Dr. Baron R. Davis, Superintendent of Richland School District Two, says that the partnership with the TransformSC network is a natural fit. “Like TransformSC, Richland Two is committed to providing students with innovative, rigorous and robust educational experiences that focus on world-class knowledge as well as life and career skills,” says Dr. Davis. “We take tremendous pride in being a member district committed to taking an innovative approach to transform education in South Carolina so that all students have an opportunity to be college and career ready upon graduation. TransformSC is the perfect platform and vehicle for accomplishing this mission.”
To learn more about TransformSC visit www.sccompetes.org. Schools at all levels and stages of development are encouraged to apply for acceptance to the TransformSC network by contacting transformsc@sccompetes.org.