Video: Growing Up Great

Education
Blog · December 18, 2019

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.

A gamechanger for South Carolina students

Education
Blog · December 6, 2019

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

Fixing South Carolina’s Education Finance Foundation

Education
Blog · October 1, 2019

“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

Debunking the myths surrounding education choice

Education
Blog · August 23, 2019

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

An “education moonshot”

Education
Blog · July 26, 2019

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,

Education report card: South Carolina vs. neighbors

Education
Blog · July 19, 2019

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