What’s next?Plotting a course out of the educational backwatersBy Bill Davis, Editor AUG. 27, 2010 -- With barely three months left on the job, now may be the time for S.C. Superintendent of Education Jim Rex to step forward, name names, identify failed programs and cut a path toward better public schools.
 So what should South Carolina do, Dr. Rex? Who exactly needs to be called out? What exactly needs to be changed?
“We don’t know yet,” Rex said last week, adding that education experts and professors and researchers are learning more every day. Currently, the idea that has most caught his eye was research that pointed to there not being enough physical education in schools because man’s brain evolved, as he put it, “on the move, running across the plains.”
Huh.
In the middle of this came news this week that, once again, South Carolina schools fell short in a competition for the so-called Race to the Top federal stimulus package education grants program that offers billions for winning cash-strapped state education systems.
In March, South Carolina came in sixth for the first round, when two states hit the jackpot. This week in round two, South Carolina came in 14th, with the top 10 states receiving funding. Four degrees of separation again shows the state wasn’t the bride or the bridesmaid or caterer.
So, we here at Statehouse Report made a few phone calls to find out what experts around the state see as possible solutions to bettering our schools.
Four basic possible solutions popped up. One, more funding. Two, community schools. Three, curriculum change. And four, technology.
Funding
This was a pretty easy notion, as most involved in education advocacy bemoaned the state’s lackluster history of education spending. Current year budget cuts have whittled actual state tax dollars to public education to the equivalent amounts the state shelled out in the mid-1990s.
Mind you, those dollars are unadjusted for inflation and now have to cover an increase in student load.
Just last week, the state found out it was no longer in the running for a different education grant program, potentially worth more than $140 million, because South Carolina didn’t meet education funding benchmarks. Hope abounds in Columbia that U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) will be able to craft new legislation and get it through Congress quickly, which will restore the funding meant to save teachers jobs.
Many critics routinely decry that “throwing more money” at education won’t solve everything. But with all of the cuts that have occurred this decade, others wonder, whether spending more really has been tried?
Community schools
Many public education advocates in the 1970s often held schools could solve most societal ills. Give us a kid with a problem, they believed, and we’ll come up with a program, according to several sources interviewed for this story.
Problem was, it didn’t work, and the edu-political pendulum begun to swing. School officials began to complain that they couldn’t be held accountable for bad test scores because the students showing up at their doors didn’t have the needed pre-school skills, the access to reading or involved parents, to sustain previously achieved education scores.
 No Child Left Behind, the federal educational accountability act, was, arguably, an offshoot of this paradigm. But it now seems to be ebbing, as the pendulum has begun swinging in the opposite direction.
Debbie Elmore, the communications director at the S.C. School Boards Association, like many other public education advocates, has become enamored with efforts like the Harlem Children’s Zone Inc.
The Harlem Children’s Zone, led by Geoffrey Canada, is a pioneering private/public effort in New York City which has become a one-stop destination for lower-income families in search of everything from pre-natal care to early childhood education, longer school days with an extended school calendar, to health care for the kids and job training for the parents.
Elmore marvels at the success this NYC program could achieve with, what she said was $19,000-per-pupil funding. She was especially impressed when she compared to what South Carolina state system had achieved with roughly $9,000 per-student funding.
Elmore said she hoped the HCZ will lead the debate about charter schools in a new direction in South Carolina, once, she said, charter school advocates realize that the Harlem school is really one of them.
But in the words of Ed Dickey, a professor in the Department of Instruction and Teacher Education at the USC College of Education, community schools like the HCZ will never sell in South Carolina “because they reek of socialism.”
According to Dickey, the rise of popularity of community schools in education discussions in South Carolina showed the state’s split personality and a need to address substantive education policy. One way, according to policy guru Lorin Anderson, is to focus on the relevancy of the current curriculum.
Curriculum
Anderson, a distinguished professor emeritus of education at USC whose wife is the executive director of the state Education Oversight Committee, has been around long enough to see the education pendulum swing both ways.
Anderson, who consults regularly these days with North Carolina education policy makers, remembered when rote memorization – such as who was the 26th vice president – gave way to process-oriented education, when mastering facts wasn’t important as learning how to learn.
The bad news, according to Anderson, was that both approaches were wrong. Fifth-graders in Orangeburg County schools being quizzed about a passage on puffins that the class just read together wasn’t “science,” he said, “it’s reading comprehension.”
 Science, he said, is the process of inquiry, “but you have know things that scientists know, as well as be able to think like a scientist.” The trick, Anderson said, is maintaining a balance between memorization and higher thinking.
Anderson posed this question: “If Bob can run 100 meters in 10 seconds, how long will he take to run 1,000 meters?” If you answered 100 seconds, you’re wrong, according to Anderson, because no one can maintain a constant rate of speed, the problem doesn’t include the time it took Bob to get up to speed, and so on.
While most people interviewed for this story thought current curriculum standards were appropriate, Anderson argued that there needed to be a new focus throughout the state on whether teachers taught the approved curriculum in ways that are relevant and pragmatic to students. Lessons in practical personal finance might be more important for many students than mastering quadratic equations, he said.
Technology
Students in South Carolina could never be trusted with a free, Internet-ready laptop, right? They’d just use them to play video games, send emails and network socially. And in the end , they’d just lose the things and scores would remain flat? Right.
Wrong. An ongoing pilot program at the Palmetto Project has put 2,600 basic $300 laptops into the hands, classrooms and bus-riding laps of students in different parts of the state.
The non-profit group wanted to find out how it could use affordable, existing technology to help what its estimates as the 25 percent of the state’s students who enter kindergarten without the skills to succeed.
After a test-run in the Marion 7 school district, the Palmetto Project wants to help create a statewide virtual learning center. Why? The group’s initial findings were that not only did kids’ technology mastery increase – a must in an accelerating world – but also teachers reported quantifiable increases in academic achievement attributed to the relatively inexpensive computers.
Now, the trick may be to find more curriculum-based games to give to the kids in expanded trials to further realize more gains, according to the program’s director, Steve Skardon.
Crystal ball: South Carolina remains at an education crossroads. How will it move forward with a bad schools past hanging over its head, knowing that money will be hard to come by in the coming years, as lagging tax revenues threaten to cut money out of education budgets on the local, state, and federal levels? South Carolina can either push forward, potentially making mistakes along the way, or stay put, and watch states like North Carolina and Georgia leaves us behind, later to be joined by states like Qinghai and Punjab.NOTE: This is the third story in an occasional series on education in South Carolina.
8/20: Schools struggle for success
8/13: Health funding crisis looms
8/6: Getting education's finances in order
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Education, tax meetings ahead- Education. The Select Committee on K-12 funding will meet Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. in 105 Gressette. More.
- TRAC. The next scheduled meeting of the Taxation Realignment Commission will be Thursday at 10 a.m. in 105 Gressette. More.
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Bottoming outSouth Carolina this week lost once again in its bid to grab an enormous chunk of federal education grant dollars. Federal officials informed the state that it was not one of 10 states with a winning application this week, the second round of education funding spawned by President Obama’s federal stimulus package.
For the second time this year, the state finished four places out of the money. South Carolina ranked sixth in the first round when it asked in March for $300 million to fund ongoing reforms. But the feds only awarded money to two states then.
This week, with a pared-down application asking for $175 million to help the state tie teacher evaluations to student achievement among other efforts, the news came as even worse news because neighboring states North Carolina and Georgia both made the grade. To add insult to penury (read: injury) last week, South Carolina was informed that it was not, in fact, in line for a $140-million chunk of federal money to save teacher jobs because the state didn’t meet education-funding benchmarks.
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Get the facts before you get angryBy Andy Brack, Publisher AUG. 27, 2010 – Anger seems to be America’s newest and largest domestic product. If all of the energy from mad Americans could be bottled, it would be a better and more renewable energy source than wind or solar.  Americans are angry at everything these days – other drivers, Muslims who want to build a mosque in New York, Republicans, Democrats, and, if you listen any to Fox News, the government.
But how much of that anger is misplaced or just plain misinformed? Take the case of the elderly man who is mad because he hears state government may raise sales taxes on his prescription drugs. First of all, he’s not paying any sales taxes on prescription drugs now. Second, the state Taxation Realignment Commission (TRAC) is only looking at a proposal that would LOWER all sales taxes by removing some of the $2.7 billion in special-interest tax exemptions that the state currently gives away. In the TRAC proposal for lowering sales taxes on everyone, prescription drugs bought under Medicaid or Medicare would continue to be exempt from sales taxes. So for that guy with steam coming out of his ears because he’s “heard” his drugs might cost a little more, there’s a very real and strong possibility that any slight sales tax increases he may incur from drugs he buys that aren’t covered by Medicare will be more than offset by an overall sales tax decrease on everything else he purchases. In other words, this guy is mad at something that will probably end up either saving him money or being revenue neutral as the TRAC group works to develop a proposal that will broaden the tax base but make the overall rate lower. What’s even more interesting is that this elderly guy already is getting a huge income tax break compared to a regular family of four. (If any group really wants to get mad, it should be regular taxpayers with kids, as you’ll see below.) Under current state law, South Carolinians get standard deductions and have personal exemptions from income tax that are subtracted from gross income in calculations of how much income should be subject to state tax. For a working family of four with children who are 7 and 10, the standard deduction is $11,400 and the personal exemptions are $3,650 each for a total of $14,600. Add the two figures and you’ll find that this family can earn $26,000 tax-free. Only after earning this amount is the rest of their income subject to state tax. But contrast what they’re paying to the mad elderly married guy. Because he and his wife are over 65, they get a special 65-year-old exemption of $15,000 each. Their standard deduction is “enhanced” to $13,600, compared to the $11,400 of the working family. Then based on averages, they get another $25,680 of income exempted from income taxes due to a Social Security exclusion. And then they also get the regular personal exemption of $3,650 each. Add up all of these exemptions and the elderly family of two can earn $76,580 before being subject to income tax. With most seniors on fixed incomes below this amount, that means most seniors pay no income tax.  Now armed with this information about the inequality between working families and the elderly, isn’t there something a little wrong with the picture? Can’t it be argued that working families are actually subsidizing the retirements of elderly people, who tend to use a lot more state services like health care than the working families? Does the tax disparity suggest we as a society value seniors more than working families? The lesson of today’s example is that before you blow a gasket, do a little research. Double-check what you hear on the television (or read in the newspapers). Maybe when you have more information than the slivers offered by some preying, opportunistic politicians, you’ll be able to turn that frown upside down. Andy Brack, publisher of Statehouse Report, can be reached at: brack@statehousereport.com.
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S.C. Policy Council  The public spiritedness of our underwriters allows us to bring SC Statehouse Report to you at no cost. This issue's underwriter is the South Carolina Policy Council. Since 1986, the Policy Council has brought together civic, community and business leaders from all over our state to discuss innovative policy ideas that advance the principles of limited government and free enterprise. No other think tank in South Carolina can match the Policy Council's success in assembling the top national and state experts on taxes, education, environmental policy, health care and numerous other issues. That ability to bring new ideas to the forefront, lead the policy debate and create a broad base of support for sensible reform is what makes our organization the leader in turning good ideas into good state policy. For more information, go to: www.scpolicycouncil.com.
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Stock school plans are a bad ideaBy Jane Frederick
President, AIASC
Special to Statehouse Report
AUG. 27, 2010 -- In regard to K-12 education in South Carolina, Nikki Haley said “The best decisions that are made are local”. But it seems to be empty rhetoric because she continues by saying that she would seek to "Develop scalable pre-designed template drawings for schools.... There is no reason to reinvent the wheel every time a school is built – using a single, template set of plans will allow us to put the money spent on architectural fees back into the classroom." Likewise, Mick Zais thinks school districts "need to be given flexibility in designing the academic programs to best meet the needs of the students." But Zais does not want the flexibility to include designing the appropriate buildings to fit those academic programs.  The American Institute of Architects South Carolina believes school facilities should be designed and built to fit the environment, the location, and the specific needs of children and teachers using those schools. Stock plans or "scalable pre-designed templates" are a one-size-fits-all approach to school construction that has been proven not work for many reasons.
- A total of 25 states have used stock plans for school buildings. All 25 states abandoned the idea of using stock plans when the school districts realized that they were losing money and receiving an inferior product.
- Stock plans do not address different curricula and teaching methodologies among districts. Some districts have vocational/adult education requirements or art and science requirements that demand unique facility layouts and use; security needs are different; and special students' needs are different.
- Stock school plans increase construction costs. Due to the varying topography, climate, seismic and soil conditions throughout the state, stock plans will invariably encounter construction conflicts in the field, dramatically increasing change order costs and delays. These job and site-specific conflicts are regularly eliminated during the programming and design phases of school projects by qualified architects.
- Stock plans are not free. They must be created and detailed to completion. For the school to function properly an architect must be hired to modify the standardized school plans according to the site's topography, location of roads, access to utilities, climate, and site orientation. Modifications of stock plans to fit local conditions typically costs 2/3 to 3/4 of the original fee. Results are that there is very little savings in design fees and the community whose tax dollars funded the school must live with a building that may be marginally adequate for their needs.
- Stock plans limit competition among building product manufacturers and suppliers. Lack of competition typically drives building prices upward. Standard plans are anti-free enterprise. The standardization of specification forces many component manufacturers out of the bidding process. Schools are constructed with tax derived funds and all segments of the building industry provide these taxes and each segment should have its chance to participate in accordance with its competitive edge.
- Stock school plans increase life-cycle costs. Like snowflakes, no two school sites are the same - in most cases, they are dramatically different. Building design must take into account orientation to the sun, differing climate zones as well as district specific uses for the buildings. Each of these factors greatly influence the building design, and when not appropriately considered, will result in increased maintenance and utility costs, decreased life span for the building systems, as well as inefficient and ineffective buildings that must be maintained for years to come.
- Liability becomes complicated when a stock plan drawn up by one architect is modified by another architect. In South Carolina it is illegal for an architect to sign or stamp construction documents that he or she did not personally prepare or directly supervise. An architect hired to use existing documents would essentially need to disassemble the plans and recalculate each element to be assured they are designed to his or her standard. The costs and time involved in such a task are considerable, and could easily outweigh the perceived benefits of using stock school plans.
Ultimately, we would pose the following question to candidates Haley and Zais: what school delivery model serves the children of South Carolina and those responsible for their education in the most beneficial manner? Is it a model that curtails innovation, limits competition and provides the bare necessities of a factory-like learning environment? Or is it a different model, as the American Institute of Architects South Carolina believes-- one that promotes local engagement and free market principles that produce a well thought out learning environment for producing the leaders of tomorrow? We invite the candidates to reconsider what course is best for the future of our state.
Jane Frederick, a Beaufort architect, is president of the American Institute of Architects-South Carolina, an underwriter of Statehouse Report.
8/20: E. Brack: Worrying about society's direction
8/13: Frederick: Pass capital bond bill now
8/6: Campbell: Community collaborations
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Yes, thank those who mean something to youNOTE: Over the last week, Statehouse Report received several letters on last week’s “Thank a Teacher” column by publisher Andy Brack. We couldn’t publish them all, but most are along the lines of those that follow. Thanks to all for writing to us. We too appreciate your thoughts.
To Statehouse Report: Thank you for a beautiful and meaningful piece. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Mary Jo Riggins was my inspiration. As I shared year after year with my students how this wonderful, genuine woman influenced and made a difference in my life, I felt it was time for me to tell her.
I wrote a letter and told her where I was, what I was doing (teaching eighth grade), and how grateful I was to have had her as a role model. I gave personal information about my husband, children, and where we currently lived. After mailing that letter I waited and waited. I had almost given up hope of never hearing from her when her letter came. She said, “I lost my husband several years ago, and Linda, you will never know what your words meant. I received your letter the day I held my husband to be in my arms as he died from a heart attack. I felt like I had lost my life and my love. When I got home that day, there was your letter. It was a source of encouragement and strength in one of my darkest hours. Thank you for writing and sharing your life with me.”
I have tried several others times to reach her, but to no avail. I try to tell my students to thank those that mean something to them. It is a small effort for us, but it is a major gift for them. Don’t be stingy with love and appreciation. I am glad I shared, and I am glad you shared. I am glad to follow my calling each day as teacher. Thank you for your story. I am sure there are many others that related to this.
-- Linda Maguire, Lexington, SC Article gives us hope  Thank you for your timely words. Educators so seldom receive applause, and so often have to endure the public’s negative comments that an article such as yours gives us hope that some know how dedicated we are to the children of South Carolina.
I know your teacher lived her last days smiling because you recognized her impact on your life. I witness the love and dedication our teachers have for our students every day when I visit schools. I just wish those who write the negative press would visit our schools so they could see the truth. -- Dr. Robin R. Simmons, Lexington, SC
Column warmed my heart I was forwarded your article. I am a first grade teacher (33 years in the classroom), married to a teacher, daughter, granddaughter, daughter-in-law, and mother of two teachers. Your article warmed my heart! Thank you for recognizing that teachers can make a huge difference the lives of children and their parents. You have inspired me to contact the teachers of my children to tell them what an impact they had on our family. Again, THANK YOU! -- Debbie Carroll, Lake Murray, SC
Former student’s letter meant a lot to her Thank you for your commentary this week. I, too, wrote my favorite teacher about 20 years after I had his class. I still have the letters we exchanged. I'm also a former teacher (now administrator) and I received a phone call last spring from a student I taught 30 years ago. I hadn't seen or heard from her during that time. What a surprise! I can't begin to describe how much it meant to me.
-- Dr. Janice H. Poda, Deputy State Superintendent of Education for Administration, Columbia, S.C.
Haley should boycott media To Statehouse Report: I was amused to read that Rep. Nikki Haley snubbed your request to answer 10 Questions. If I were advising a candidate running for office I would strongly suggest that they ignore the news media. For a long time now, media reporting has been heavily biased, either right or left wing, and accordingly their editorials are irrelevant. Of course Mr. Sheheen jumped at the chance because he knows you are in his corner. Voters can be divided into three groups. Those that read editorials but only those written by editors who have views aligned with their own, those who read them occasionally for amusement and a majority that do not read them and care less what the media thinks. If I were advising Rep. Haley, I would tell her to also boycott any and all debates and just talk directly to the Voters who will ultimately elect her or send her home. -- Eruch Tata, Lexington, SC
Want to send us a letter? Letters to the editor are published weekly. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity. We generally publish all comments about South Carolina politics or policy issues, unless they are libelous or unnecessarily inflammatory. One submission is allowed per month. Submission of a comment grants permission to us to reprint. Comments are limited to 250 words or less.
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Fast companies, SRS, Haley Up, up, up. Twenty-five South Carolina-based companies made a list of the fastest-growing companies in the country, most of them located in the Upstate. More.
SRS. Feds have approved the construction of a new MOX nuclear fuel conversion facility at the Savannah River Site, saying it was a safe project. The bad news: the feds have been wrong before. More.
Haley. Term limits for legislators? Limiting them to 12 years total combined between the House and the Senate? That would breed an army of unqualified, disenfranchised, know-it-alls … Hey, wait a minute … More.
McMaster. S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster is going after Craigslist for advertising “adult services,” and supporting a new round of religion-friendly state license plates.
Dream(liner) deferred. Engine delays for the Boeing 787 means delivery delays for the massive plane could mean problems for the new Boeing expansion in Charleston. More.
Real estate. Low prices and cheap, cheap mortgages couldn’t save July, which saw 16 percent fewer homes sold than at this time last year. More.
Education. Missed out on millions in federal education grant dollars in most recent round of Race to the Top contest. Surprise. More.
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