When Mark and Padgett Mozingo found out their daughter Lila had Down syndrome, they were consistently told what she couldn’t do. Some even told Padgett that she shouldn’t go through with the pregnancy. But they decided Lila was “limitless” and work hard to ensure that her diagnosis does not define her. A huge part of
South Carolina spends the third most per pupil of all 'deep south' states – way more than Florida and Mississippi. But South Carolina is dramatically behind Florida and Mississippi in academic scores in reading. It begs the question: how are we spending more for worse results?
Second Baptist Christian Preparatory School (SBC Prep) has been serving students in Aiken, South Carolina with excellence for over 20 years. Dr. Shaunette Parker--mother, educator, and SBC Prep board chair--discusses the need for education freedom and how the school has shaped her own son's life.
Yesterday, a S.C. Senate Education Subcommittee resumed public testimony on S.556, a bill to create Equal Opportunity Education Scholarship Accounts (ESAs). Parents, pastors, principals, and both local and national education policy experts testified about the practical way ESAs could transform educational opportunities for low-income, special needs, military, and foster care students in South Carolina. The
“South Carolina’s educational funding scheme is a fractured formula denying students…constitutionally required opportunity.” – South Carolina Supreme Court PROBLEM 1: South Carolina’s overall academic performance is poor…and falling below Mississippi. South Carolina is at—or near—the bottom of every major national ranking of education outcomes. In 2017-18, 2/3rds of 3rd-8th graders did not meet grade level
Download this report. Earlier this month, the online opinion journal EducationNext rolled out the results of its annual poll on issues in American education. We always anticipate this nonpartisan survey because it provides a window into the minds of the general public on issues we track here at Palmetto Promise, like education choice and school
Test scores for South Carolina’s special needs students have worsened considerably over the past 20 years. It’s especially telling when you compare South Carolina’s trajectory to nearby states.
This week, I was honored to be invited to speak to the Downtown Aiken Rotary, one of the oldest and largest clubs in the state. Education was front and center. My mission: to pack this massive (and massively important) issue into a digestible 20-minute talk! We touched on many topics we’ve shared in previous emails,
South Carolina continues to sink below our southeastern neighbors in education outcomes. On almost every indicator, data shows that South Carolina is behind the curve. In light of that, Palmetto Promise has done some digging to look at how South Carolina really stacks up to our neighboring states on education innovation and performance. We’ve assigned 1-4 rankings
When it comes to fixing the problems in our state’s worst performing school districts, nearly everyone thinks that bold action at the state level is needed. But, in the face of immense local pressure to stand down, will the state act?
