The Artis Ware Center For Education Opportunity

Named to honor the inspiring legacy of U.S. Senator Tim Scott’s grandfather, The Artis Ware Center for Education Opportunity works to advance educational excellence and hope for every South Carolina child.
A Message from U.S. Senator Tim Scott

The Latest

Blog
February 11, 2025

South Carolina’s New School Choice Bill Lags Behind Tennessee and Texas

Wendy Damron

We are grateful to the South Carolina Senate for its recent passage of S.62, a bill by Education Chairman Greg Hembree that aims to restore school choice in South Carolina following the SC Supreme Court’s Eidson decision that left thousands of SC families with their promised scholarships ripped away. The legislation passed after several weeks

Blog
February 10, 2025

Solving the Teacher Shortage: Strategic Policy Solutions for Expanding Teaching & Learning

Mercy Fletcher

Teacher shortages have become a persistent problem for South Carolina’s public schools. But with new bills being proposed every legislative session to address this crisis, it’s hard to keep up with all the proposed changes.  At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school session there were 1,043 teacher vacancies compared to the prior year’s 1,613 vacancies. To

Blog
January 30, 2025

Opinion: South Carolina legislators must restore school choice for families

This op-ed by Francesca Flores was originally published in The Greenville News. Imagine being a parent, watching your child thrive in a school that meets their unique needs — only to have that opportunity suddenly taken away. That is what happened to low-income families in the Palmetto State. Now that South Carolina’s legislative session has

Blog
January 27, 2025

South Carolina advocate wins ‘Doer’ award for efforts to fund school choice

This article by Adam Whittenberg was published in The Lion about Palmetto Promise President & CEO Wendy Damron’s recent award. When the South Carolina Supreme Court abruptly ended South Carolina’s school choice program just weeks into the school year, Wendy Damron didn’t take things lying down. Damron, who heads the Palmetto Promise Institute think tank,

Blog
January 27, 2025

RELEASE: New Donors Push Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue Fund to $2.2 million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE New Donors Push Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue Fund to $2.2 million  COLUMBIA — To kick off National School Choice Week, Palmetto Promise Institute President Wendy Damron announced today that new support from three (3) additional donors has pushed the Palmetto Promise ESTF Families Rescue fund to $2.2 million. The Rescue Fund goal,

Blog
January 14, 2025

President & CEO Wendy Damron Given Major Award for School Choice Efforts

We are pleased to announce that Palmetto Promise Institute President & CEO Wendy Damron was awarded the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Doer Award at the Awakening by Heritage Conference this past weekend. Heritage defines “Doers” as individuals who are making a difference in their personal lives or fields of work, advancing Heritage’s mission and values. The

Blog
December 17, 2024

New Poll Shows Americans Are Committed to Educational Freedom

Palmetto Promise Team

A newly-released national poll conducted by yes. every kid. foundation. shows the steadfast support Americans have for education policies that prioritize choice and flexibility.   Have you ever thought of the K-12 education system as flexible?  Most Americans don’t, according to these poll results.  And yet Americans (and parents in particular) crave flexibility in education, and

Blog
December 16, 2024

Education Without Censorship: How the FORUM Act Could Shape SC Higher Ed

Morgan Weiner

College students that attend school in South Carolina deserve to exchange ideas freely and to have their speech fiercely protected. South Carolina should aim to be a place where all students from all backgrounds may speak their minds without censorship. This vision may become a reality this legislation session with the FORUM Act.   Representative Bill

Blog
December 12, 2024

The First Step to Save SC School Choice

Felicity Ropp

“I’ve been asked, ‘Why are you in such a rush? Why are you in such a hurry? What’s the urgency on this?’ And I’ll be really clear about that. You’ve got a couple thousand students out there that are right in the middle of the school year. They have made that transition to an independent