BLYTHEWOOD – Several students have been suspended but no criminal charges have been filed after threatening comments were reported at Blythewood High School last week.
A student’s email to administrators reported “overhearing threatening comments by several students.”
While Richland County sheriff’s deputies have determined that there is “no credible threat to the school building, students, or faculty,” extra police were on campus Friday, and deputies continue to investigate the comments that were made. The students in question have been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation.
No criminal charges are pending at this time, deputies say.
Newly elected school board member, Darreyl Davis, is congratulated by candidate Herb Rentz, left, Davis’s wife, Tamika, Tonya Green and candidate Lisa Brandenburg.
WINNSBORO – Political newcomer Darreyl Davis bested two opponents in a special election Tuesday night to win the District 7 School Board seat vacated by Beth Reid, who passed away in November.
Davis garnered 186 votes (46.43 percent) over opponent Herb Rentz who received 155 votes (36.21 percent) in his bid to win the seat held by Reid, his late wife. Lisa Brandenburg received 87 votes (20.33 percent.)
Of the 2,165 voters in the district, 430 (19.86 percent) turned out to cast ballots Tuesday.
“I want to thank my supporters for having faith that I’ll be an asset to the school board, to the school district and to the community.” Davis told The Voice he has a passion for helping children.
“I’m going to help improve our education system here in Fairfield. I’m just looking forward to getting started,” Davis said.
While Davis is new to the political arena, the father of six is not a newcomer to the school district. He is currently president of the Fairfield Elementary PTO, is past chair of the FES Improvement Council and is a board member for First Steps. Davis is the founder and president of Believers and Achievers and two years ago received the ‘Service Above Self’ award from the Winnsboro Rotary Club. Davis is employed in the environmental health and safety department at Isola in Ridgeway.
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County School District Superintendent Dr. J. R. Green has been appointed to the State Board of Education by the Fairfield, Chester and Lancaster legislative delegation.
Green
“In December, we were notified by Molly Spearman, S.C. Secretary of Education, that a seat was coming open on the Board effective Jan. 31,” Rep. MaryGail Douglas said last week. “The seat rotates between Fairfield, Lancaster and Chester School Districts, and it was Fairfield’s turn to fill it. Senator Fanning and I felt, of course, that Dr. Green is an excellent choice for this appointment.”
“We were looking for someone to be a voice for teachers in our district and in our state,” Douglas said. “They don’t really have a strong voice on the state level.”
“It is an honor to be provided an opportunity to serve on the State Board of Education,” Green said. “I look forward to contributing to the crafting of education policy in South Carolina.”
The State School Board seat is for a four-year term.
Westwood High School’s Student Senate visited residents of The Crossings.
BLYTHEWOOD – The holidays were brighter for many in the Midlands, thanks to the hard work of Richland Two high school students.
During the first week in December, Westwood High School’s Student Senate, along with three honors societies, visited residents of The Crossings, an independent and assisted living community. They played Bingo, tic-tac-toe and crafts with the seniors.
Also in December, Westwood and Blythewood high schools joined forces for military families in the Blythewood area. The “Red, White, and Blue Holiday Party” included food, games, carriage rides and a visit from Santa.
Blythewood High’s Unarmed JROTC Drill Team performs at during the pep rally at Main Street Elementary School in Lake City.
Blythewood High adopted Main Street Elementary School in Lake City through a program called Project Connect. The school received donations from parent groups, individuals and other Richland Two schools to provide supplies for each of the school’s 14 classrooms as well as related arts classrooms.
On Dec. 7, BHS students traveled to Lake City to deliver and set the supplies in every classroom. Main Street Elementary students arrived the following morning to positive notes on their desks and a festive gym ready for a pep rally.
WINNSBORO – Lisa Brandburg, Darreyl Davis and Herb Rentz are on the ballot in next Tuesday’s school board special election to fill Beth Reid’s seat on the board. Reid, who represented District 7, passed away in November.
Davis
Darreyl Davis, who works in environmental health and safety at Isola, is president of Believers and Achievers, is a past chair of the Fairfield Elementary School Improvement Council and is the current president of the Fairfield Elementary PTO. He is a board member for First Steps and two years ago received the ‘Service Above Self’ award from the Rotary Club of Winnsboro. He was also recognized for his community work by the South Carolina Legislature in 2015.
The father of six children, two of whom are enrolled in Fairfield District schools, Davis said he has a passion to help kids in the community.
“I am the right choice to be the voice of the people in District 7 for the Fairfield County School District,” Davis said.
Rentz
Herb Rentz, manager of Mid-County Water Company, said he is hoping to continue the work of Reid, his late wife.
‘I feel a calling to take on her work,” Rentz said. “Crucial to the successful operation of our education system is accountability. Our results have to correlate appropriately to our expenditures. Our superintendent, as our primary employee, successfully prioritizes our goals and objectives and is responsible for matching our resources so that we achieve maximum efficiency. Policies established by the board are designed to insure that this process continues,” Rentz said.
Brandenburg, who is emplooyed as Coordinator of Intervention in special services for the Fairfield County School District, has been employed by the District for more than 30 years, serving as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.
“I feel I’m the candidate most qualified to fill the vacancy,” Brandenburg said.
Ms. Brandenburg had not responded to requests for a photo at press time.
BLYTHEWOOD/WINNSBORO – The three local high schools – Blythewood High School (BHS) and Westwood High School (WHS) in Richland 2 School District and Fairfield Central High School (FCHS) in Fairfield County School District – show varying results on the 2017 statewide, standardized tests used to determine the State Department of Education’s (SDE) annual report card scores.
ACT SCORES
2017 Average ACT Scores
All eleventh graders were given the ACT college readiness assessment test last spring. Scores for English, reading, math and science as well as a total score for all four subjects combined can range from 1 to 36; writing scores range from 2-12. FCHS’s total ACT score improved from 15.8 in 2016 to 16.3 in 2017, BHS’s total score decreased to 18 in 2017, down from 19.2 in 2016; and WHS’s 2017 composite ACT score of 16.2 was slightly decreased from its 2016 score of 16.4.
COLLEGE READY
The report cards also show the percentage of students deemed college-ready by meeting ACT benchmark scores for each of the four subjects tested.
Benchmark score for English is 18. That score was met by 38.4 percent of BHS students; 24 percent of WHS students and 22.8 percent of FCHS students.
Benchmark score for math is 22. That score was met by 20 percent of BHS students; 9.4 percent of WHS students and 13.2 percent of FCHS students.
Benchmark for reading is 22. That score was met by 29.9 percent of BHS students; 17.5 percent of FCHS students and 16.2 percent of WHS students.
Benchmark for science is 23. That score was met by 19.5 BHS students; 8.5 percent of WHS students and 7.9 percent of FCHS students.
Not as many students met the college-ready benchmarks in all four subjects tested by the ACT. That number was 11.7 percent of BHS students; 4.9 percent of WHS students and 3.2 percent of FCHS students.
SAT SCORES
Average 2017 SAT scores
Participation in SAT test taking is on a volunteer basis. Improvements in the 2017 SAT scores over 2016 could not be determined because the SAT was redesigned for this year using a different scale. For 2017, the highest score for each individual section on the SAT is 800 and the highest total score is 1600. The following chart is based on those scores.
END OF COURSE SCORES
End of Course Tests – Percent with scores 60 or above
The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) provides tests in high school core courses and for courses taken in middle school for high school credit. The core courses are: Algebra 1 / Math for the Technologies 2, English 1, Biology 1, and US History and the Constitution. Statewide, almost 75% percent of students passed all subjects with a score of 60 or above.
ACT WorkKeys
Percent of students meeting Platinum, Gold or Silver thresholds for WorkKeys, 2017
According to the SDE website, the ACT WorkKeys® is a job skills assessment system measuring «real world» skills that employers believe are critical in the workplace. Like the ACT, It is given to 11th graders. The assessment consists of three sub-tests: Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information and Locating Information. Students can earn certificates at the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze level on WorkKeys assessments.
GRADUATION RATES
The 2017 report cards show that South Carolina’s four year graduation rate increased to 84.6 percent, an all-time high and a two percent increase over the previous year. BHS’s graduation rate soared to 97.3 percent; FCHS’s graduation rate is 91 percent and WHS’s rate is 80.1 percent.
The school report card data is available on the SDE’s website and a new tool makes it very easy to see all the information for each individual district or school.
The current report cards do not give an overall district and school rating of “excellent, good, average or at-risk” for 2017. However, the 2018 report card will be revamped to meet the requirements of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the state’s new accountability system. Schools will not be rated for state accountability purposes until the fall of 2018 when the state will transition to a single accountability system.
WINNSBORO – The Midlands S.T.E.M. Institute (MSI) board of trustees announced Wednesday that the school will begin its 2018-19 academic year in a new location.
The Winnsboro-based public charter school’s board voted to purchase the White Oak Conference Center in Fairfield County and will move its entire operation from Rockton Baptist Church to the new facility next summer.
Now in its fourth year of operation, MSI will expand to grade nine for 2018-19, a move made possible by the board’s decision to relocate, board chair Kevin Thomas said.
“We are enormously grateful for the congregation of Rockton Baptist Church and all of its support during our first few years of operation,” Thomas said. “We would not be in the position we are in without them. But we also have grown to the point where moving is necessary. This will be an exciting new chapter for MSI as we continue to fulfill our mission to provide a quality educational choice for students and parents.”
The 200-acre site will give MSI 23 classrooms, a 400-seat dining hall, an 850-seat auditorium, and a 230-seat lecture hall. The facility also has an outdoor pool and a gymnasium. MSI plans to offer busing services from multiple Fairfield County pickup locations as well as sports for their students.
In addition to giving MSI more room for enrollment growth, the new facility’s amenities will give the school greater capacity for extracurricular offerings and scientific discovery, executive director Marie Milam said.
“The new school facility offers a great deal of potential for growth not only in our student body, but also what courses of study we might offer in the life and earth sciences just by having more outdoor space,” she said. “The large auditorium also gives our students more room to explore their creative, performance potential and a larger campus with a gymnasium will also give our students opportunities to compete in sports.”
MSI is currently accepting students in grades K5- 8th grade and ninth grade students for the 2018-2019 school year. MSI anticipates maxing out enrollment when the facility opens next fall.
MSI will add a grade each year until they offer grades K5-12 in the fall of 2021.
WINNSBORO – Three candidates have filed for the special school board election to fill the District 7 seat previously held by Beth Reid, who died last month following a long battle with cancer.
The candidates are Lisa Brandenburg, Darreyl Davis and Herb Rentz.
Brandenburg, who is employed as Coordinator of Intervention in special services for the Fairfield County School District, has been employed by the district for more than 30 years, serving as a teacher, assistant principal and principal.
“I feel I’m the candidate most qualified to fill the vacancy,” Brandenburg said.
Darreyl Davis, who works in environmental health and safety at Isola, is president of Believers and Achievers, is a past chair of the Fairfield Elementary School Improvement Council and is the current president of the Fairfield Elementary PTO. The father of six children, two of whom are enrolled in Fairfield County School District schools, Davis said he has a passion to help kids as well as the community.
Herb Rentz, manager of Mid-County Water Company, said he is hoping to continue the work of Reid, his late wife.
“I feel a calling to take on her work,” Rentz said.
The election will be held Jan. 23, 2018.
The Voice will have more information about the candidates in a later issue.
WINNSBORO – Cambio Academy in Greenbrier has been the source of numerous complaints from neighbors and, earlier this month, four juveniles from Cambio were arrested for breaking into Greenbrier United Methodist Church. During the Nov. 13 Council meeting, County Administrator Jason Taylor updated citizens on the County’s recent meeting with Cambio Academy Director Pamela Wood concerning the Academy’s mounting problems.
According to Taylor, Wood said several female teens had been inappropriately placed at Cambio. Wood identified 8-10 juveniles that she said would be better suited for a facility with a more intense level of care.
“DSS has a need to place some of these difficult clients and that’s what happened,” Taylor said. “They’re inappropriately placed at Cambio as a path of least resistance, and they probably should have been placed somewhere else.”
Currently, Taylor said he was told the doors at Cambio Academy are not kept locked. He said County officials and Wood explored ways to make the facility more secure. They looked at fencing, but according to Taylor, they were not comfortable with the placement of a barbed wire fence.
The County’s new interim fire marshal, Greg Gerber, is slated to visit Cambio to find out if a lock system or an alarm system could be the answer for the security issues. Council has a follow up meeting with Wood later this week.
“We will follow up with Mrs. Wood with a list of these things,” Taylor said. “And, hopefully, attach a time frame as to when we can hope to see improvements.”
Council Chairman Billy Smith issued a stern warning.
“I’ll just say I hope the concerns and the things that are going on now can be curtailed and corrected,” Smith said. “Because otherwise I just don’t see where we can allow that facility, without trying to do anything, to keep operating in that community in the way that it is right now.”
Cambio has not only been a source of ire for citizens, but it has created a massive workload for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Deputies have responded to over 100 incidents at Cambio in its five-month existence, something that Councilman Douglas Pauley addressed in an editorial in the Oct.26 issue of The Voice.
“Another concern is how time consuming it has become for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s department to respond to these calls. It diverts them from other matters within the County that need their attention as well,” Pauley wrote. He said he understood that the Academy, which opened in May, 2017, was supposed to be a private residential treatment and rehabilitation center for troubled female teens ranging in age from 13 to 18.
Sheriff Will Montgomery told The Voice last week that his deputies have answered more than 100 calls related to Cambio in the last five months.
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County School Board Chairwoman Beth Reid, 59, died from a complication of her long-running battle with cancer last week, passing away on Oct. 19.
Reid
“We are deeply saddened by the death of our school board chair, Mrs. Beth Reid. Her passion and commitment to the children of Fairfield County will forever be remembered,” Superintendent J. R. Green said. “The many successes the district has experienced would not have occurred without her impeccable leadership.”
A native of Winnsboro, Reid graduated from the College of Charleston where she played on the women’s basketball team. She served as a teacher, coach and guidance counselor at Great Falls High School and later became Head of School at Richard Winn Academy. Reid served two terms on the Fairfield County School Board.
The family will have a private memorial service at a later date.
A special election to fill Reid’s District 7 seat will be held Jan. 23. Filing opens at noon on Nov. 10 and closes at noon on Nov. 20.
The Winnsboro-based public charter school’s board voted to purchase the White Oak Conference Center in Fairfield County and will move its entire operation from Rockton Baptist Church to the new facility next summer.
“DSS has a need to place some of these difficult clients and that’s what happened,” Taylor said. “They’re inappropriately placed at Cambio as a path of least resistance, and they probably should have been placed somewhere else.”