RIDGEWAY – A Winnsboro man was killed Monday afternoon after his car collided with a Fairfield County school bus on Peach Road.
Fairfield County Coroner Barkley Ramsey said Taver Cook, 45, was trapped inside his 1990 Oldsmobile 98 Regency as it burst into flames after crashing into and becoming pinned underneath the school bus. Cook, of 6025 Reservoir Road, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, said two Middle School and five High School students were on the bus at the time of the crash. The students and the driver were taken to Fairfield Memorial Hospital but suffered no injuries.
“We are sad to hear about the driver,” Green said Monday evening, “but we are thankful there were no other injuries.”
The collision occurred just after 4 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Peach and McCorkle roads, approximately 4.5 miles west of Ridgeway. Cook was traveling east on Peach Road, while the bus was making a left turn onto Peach Road from McCorkle Road.
The accident is being investigated by the S.C. Highway Patrol.
Standing in front of the Fairfield High School main building are Jean McCrory, Class of ’64 and member of the alumni historical restoration committee, and Robert Davis, Class of 66 and vice president of the alumni association. (Photo/Barbara Ball)
Alumni Association Restoring Historically Black School
WINNSBORO – The red brick school located at 403 Fairfield St. in Winnsboro was built in 1924 and initially accommodated grades 1-9. During the ensuing years, the school added secondary grades, but it was not referred to as a high school. In those days, African-American high schools were generally called ‘training schools,’ with the idea of training students for certain jobs rather than offering a true academic curriculum.
But the students and teachers at the Fairfield Training School rose above that distinction and the negative implication of its name. In 1963, they changed the name to Fairfield High School, and today the Fairfield High School Alumni Association owns the school’s main building and is in the process of restoring it to its glory days when it was the center of their world.
The school compound, which consisted of a main building, a gymnasium and two other buildings, closed in 1970 when Fairfield County schools were integrated. FHS students were transferred to Winnsboro High School, which was located across the bypass from where the Winnsboro Wal-Mart is today. Owned by the Fairfield County School District, the school’s stately main building sat empty for years and would have simply deteriorated with age, if not for the efforts of its devoted graduates.
By the late 1980s, several former FHS students began exploring the possibility of saving their old school building. The idea gained momentum, and they were soon planning an alumni reunion for the fall of 1989. It was a roaring success with almost 800 people coming together for a weekend of socializing, celebrating and planning the restoration in earnest.
According to Donald Prioleau, Class of ’62 and president of the alumni group since 1995, they were determined to save their beloved alma mater from desolation.
“This building has the kind of quality you don’t see much of anymore,” said Jean McCrory, the representative for the Class of ‘64 and a member of the alumni group’s Historical Committee. “It’s very well constructed, with high ceilings, thick walls and the hardwood floors are in great condition. Our goal is to preserve the original character as much as possible.”
On April 22, 2010, the association acquired the building for $5 and a promise to complete a laundry list of improvements within the first 10 years. Prioleau said they’ve kept those promises and more. So far, the group has volunteered untold hours of labor and raised funds to hire out other projects such as installing a new roof, gutters and windows and painting the exterior trim. Prioleau said future projects include restoring the restrooms to working order, painting the interior walls and refinishing the hardwood floors.
“The main building housed the principal’s office, several classrooms and the home economics room. The teachers’ lounge and the old cafeteria were in the basement,” McCrory said. “We’re hoping to restore all of that to its original state. But it’s going to take a lot more money and a lot more work.”
McCrory said the finished building will ideally be used for a variety of recreational and community educational endeavors, such as a meeting place for scout troops and tutoring services.
Paging through the school’s yearbooks, it is evident there was a sweet bond between the teachers and the students and the teachers are still cherished in their former students’ comments. Several, in fact, are still active in the alumni group.
“Each class stayed with the same home room teacher for all three years of high school,” McCrory recalled fondly, “from ninth grade to 11th grade, which back then was when you graduated. I’m still in touch with my homeroom teacher, Mrs. Bernice J. Brown, all the time! She lives across the street from the school, where she’s lived since she started teaching. When new teachers came to the school, they always boarded with Mrs. Brown until they got settled somewhere. And two other teachers, Miss Margaret Roseborough and Mrs. Maude Ross, are both in their 90’s and very much part of our group.”
The devotion the former students have for the school is alive and well. As McCrory and Alumni Association Vice President Robert Davis (Class of ’66) paused for their photo in front of the school recently, an unidentified woman driving past the school rolled down her window and called out proudly: “Class of ‘52!”
McCrory and Davis smiled and waved.
Alumni meetings are held at 7:30 on the third Tuesday evening of every month at the school, and individual graduating classes hold their reunions at various times throughout the year. Lively reunions for the entire 650 registered alumni are planned every two or three years, with the next one scheduled for 2016. They’re always held on Thanksgiving weekend and begin with a Friday evening banquet.
“Then, on Saturday, we have a parade through downtown Winnsboro,” McCrory added, eager to go on about the weekend of fun, “and each class is represented on a beautiful float – we have about 20 floats. After that, we have a big tailgate party on the football field at Garden Street behind the school. On Sunday, we end our weekend with a church service. It’s always a wonderful event. At our last reunion, in 2013, we had over 400 people.”
“But we’re getting older and we’re dying off,” Prioleau, 70, laughed. “The class of ’55 is about our oldest class to actively participate. But the school will go on through our kids and grandkids. We’ve passed down the importance of it and many of them now volunteer their time and donations to further the project.” Prioleau said the next fund raiser is a Chinese auction planned for April or May.
“The combined work of so many people has kept the spirit of the restoration alive,” McCrory said fondly. “This project is very dear to our hearts. That school produced some very good people.”
For more information or to donate to the Fairfield High School historical restoration, contact Donald Prioleau at 803-337-2105, or mail donations to the Fairfield High School Alumni Committee, P.O. Box 1182, Winnsboro, S.C. 29180.
RIDGEWAY – The Fairfield County School Board voted 4-2 during their Dec. 16 meeting at Geiger Elementary School to give a $60 Wal-Mart gift card to all of the District’s full-time employees, but not before the motion, which was put on the floor by Board member William Frick (District 6) survived several amendments and the discussion veered off into matters of finance and salaries.
Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, told the Board that his staff had “identified some savings in the budget,” in order to afford the one-time bonus and would “not have to go into the fund balance to make that happen.”
But Board member Annie McDaniel (District 4) said $60 was not enough, while pressing Green to explain how he had arrived at the $60 figure.
“We just did your evaluation, and what was the amount some Board members thought you so graciously earned? Five percent?” McDaniel asked Green. “We’re giving you all of that but you could only find in the budget, and we put $1.5 million back into the budget, $60 for our employees?”
Green repeated that his staff had identified savings in the budget, and added, “We felt that was a reasonable amount.”
“My question was how did you come up with $60?” McDaniel asked.
“I just answered your question,” Green said.
When McDaniel repeated her question once more, Green said, “I guess I don’t understand the question,” and told McDaniel she could amend the motion if she wished.
But McDaniel said she could not amend the motion without knowing how much money was available in the budget.
“The budget is available for you,” Frick told McDaniel, “and it shows you how much we’ve spent. It’s there for you to see, Ms. McDaniel. It’s on BoardDocs (the web-based program utilized by the Board for sharing information).”
When Board member Andrea Harrison (District 1) clarified McDaniel’s question, asking where specifically in the budget those savings were, Green said the biggest reduction had come in legal fees.
McDaniel then amended Frick’s motion to give all hourly employees a $250 bonus, while maintaining $60 for all other employees. Board member Henry Miller (District 2) said he could not support separating out the hourly employees from everyone else and asked why the Board wouldn’t just make the bonus $250 for everyone. Paula Hartman (District 2), meanwhile, reminded the Board that the District had only recently given raises to hourly employees.
When Green noted that McDaniel’s motion left out teachers, McDaniel amended her motion again to provide them with $250 as well.
“I know we have the money to do what the original ($60) proposal was,” Frick said to McDaniel, “but what you’re asking us to do is to commit to money that we have no idea if we have.”
Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) then pointed out that the proposal had gone from a cost of $36,000 to the District under the $60 proposal to a cost of about $150,000 under McDaniel’s amendment. Undeterred, McDaniel then amended her motion once more to provide $250 to all District employees. But just as suddenly, McDaniel reverted back to her motion for $250 for teachers and hourly employees and $60 for everyone else.
The motion failed to carry, with only McDaniel voting in the affirmative.
Frick’s original motion then came back to the floor and passed 4-2. McDaniel and Hartman voted against the $60 bonus, while Harrison offered no vote at all.
“These are things that should be planned at the beginning of the year and not done sporadically,” Harrison said after the vote.
RIDGEWAY – The Fairfield County School Board voted 4-3 during their Dec. 16 meeting at Geiger Elementary School to extend the contract of Superintendent Dr. J.R. Green through June 30, 2021 and make him eligible for a 5-percent increase on his $144,200 a year salary after his fourth year and every year thereafter upon receiving a satisfactory evaluation from the Board. Board members Andrea Harrison (District 1), Paula Hartman (District 2) and Annie McDaniel (District 4) voted against the extension and potential raise.
The extension comes on the heels of the District successfully obtaining accreditation on Dec. 10 from AdvancEd, the accrediting arm of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and also follows the District’s third consecutive absolute rating of “average” from the S.C. Department of Education.
The vote came after a review of the Board’s evaluation of Green in executive session. Those evaluations, obtained by The Voice through a Freedom of Information Act request, show that while four of the seven Board members rated Green “exemplary,” without comment, in all five areas (Community Engagement, Student Achievement, Leadership, Learning Environment and Fiscal Management), two Board members had different views.
Harrison, who did not submit an evaluation at all, said before the vote that the Board was “making decisions based on false information.”
“Sometimes we don’t like to talk about things that aren’t good,” Harrison said. “There are things that are wrong, but are just not being talked about.”
McDaniel went a step further, saying the District had not, in fact, improved. Advanced Placement (AP) scores were of particular concern, she said, with only seven students passing the AP finals in 2013 and none in 2014.
“The improvement we’re trying to imply is not there,” McDaniel said. “We should not give false positives and make it appear that this District is doing such great things when it’s really not.”
Attempts to contact Harrison for clarification of her comments were unsuccessful at press time.
Frick, who placed the motion for the contract extension on the floor, said the District had indeed made tremendous progress during Green’s 2-plus years in office.
“We’re (moving) in a very positive direction,” Frick said. “Is everything 100 percent great? No. It’s probably never going to be. But we’re striving that way and making progress and I’m hoping we can continue on that path.”
Chairwoman Beth Reid (District 7) and Board members Henry Miller (District 3), Carl Jackson (District 5) and William Frick (District 6) all gave Green “exemplary” marks across the spectrum, but included no comments in their reviews. Hartman rated Green as “exemplary” in Community Engagement, but gave him “proficient” marks in Student Achievement and Learning Environment and handed out “needs improvement” for Leadership and Fiscal Management.
In her comments under Student Achievement, Hartman wrote, “Need to put something in place to get students to pass AP final test. Do we have something? Because not many are passing.”
“Need to inform Board more and have Board vote on appropriate things,” Hartman wrote in her comments under Leadership and under Fiscal Management. “Show more Board respect.”
McDaniel was somewhat more critical, giving Green “needs improvement” marks in every category.
Under Student Achievement, McDaniel noted that Green had not notified the Board that the District had been cited by the State Department of Education for having an assistant principal in place who was not certified. In her comments under Fiscal Management, McDaniel wrote, “Mr. Green brags that $1.5 million went back to fund balance; however, fiscal needs for students went unmet.”
The State Department actually “advised” the District in its 2013-2014 accreditation report, not “cited,” regarding an assistant principal at Kelly Miller Elementary who was not certified.
“This particular individual was transferred to Kelly Miller prior to my arrival,” Green wrote in an email to The Voice this week. “If my memory serves me correctly, he had a secondary administrative certification and was working to obtain his elementary administrative certification. Additionally, he is no longer employed with Fairfield County Schools and was replaced by an individual who has elementary administrative certification. Furthermore, for a district to have only one ‘advisement’ is pretty good.”
Green wrote in his email that he was also unclear as to how McDaniel’s note related to student achievement.
As far as the fiscal needs to students going “unmet,” as McDaniel asserted, Green wrote that he was also in the dark.
“I have absolutely no clue what Ms. McDaniel is speaking of,” Green wrote. “In fact, beginning in January we will provide an individual Goggle Chromebook for all students in grades 3-12 as a part of our new expanded 1-to-1 initiative. What “unmet” needs? Maybe she will share some with you, because I have not heard of any.”
Attempts to contact McDaniel were not successful at press time.
McDaniel also included a footnote on her evaluation form critical of the form itself.
“Notice is that this evaluation was not an agreed upon document by the board and thus agreement of what would be provided to the board; thus, without sufficient empirical data or documentation I must grade Mr. Green as needing improvement.”
RIDGEWAY – The Dec. 16 meeting of the Fairfield County School Board, held at Geiger Elementary School, degenerated into an ugly standoff between Board Chairwoman Beth Reid and Board Member Annie McDaniel, with an unsuccessful attempt by Reid to have McDaniel removed from the meeting by a Fairfield County Sheriff’s deputy. The showdown ended anticlimactically after Reid asked for and received a motion to adjourn and the meeting was disbanded, albeit somewhat prematurely, with four affirmative votes.
The tension between the two had been escalating throughout the meeting, Reid admitted later. During the financial report, when McDaniel complained about not receiving information from Green in a format that she had asked for, Reid ruled McDaniel out of order.
McDaniel said during the discussion that she was seeking “a printout from the computer system” detailing how Green had used his discretionary fund.
“We did provide you that information,” Green told McDaniel. “Apparently, you did not approve of the format in which it was provided. Our legal counsel did contact you and informed you that it was in accordance with our FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requirements. If the Board wants to instruct me to do otherwise, I’ll leave that decision to the Board.”
“What I asked you for was the information from the computer system,” McDaniel responded. “What you gave was an Excel spreadsheet. Now, does that mean I do not trust you? I’m not going to get into that.”
McDaniel said that the Board should not even bee allocating a discretionary fund for Green, “just to say you can do whatever you want to do with it, and we ask you what you spend the money on you won’t give us information.”
Reid reiterated that the information had indeed been provided and attempted to move on from finance to the human resources report.
“You know, Madam Chair,” McDaniel said, “you sit here and you want to try to rush us through because you already discussed this and decided everything.”
Reid again tried to move the agenda forward, but McDaniel plowed ahead.
“We as Board members ask you questions so we can understand,” McDaniel continued, but Reid brought down the gavel and ruled McDaniel out of order.
“No, I’m not out of order,” McDaniel said.
“It is out of order,” Reid said, “and if I call you out of order again I will ask you to be removed.”
“Oh, no ma’am,” McDaniel said. “You won’t ask for nobody to be removed from the Board meeting.”
“Yes, I will,” Reid warned.
“This is for the Board and I’m representing just as much as anybody else up here.”
At last, the Board took up approval of the resignation of a certified employee. With a motion and a second on the floor, Reid called for the vote. But McDaniel asked Reid to call for questions.
Reid, however, said she was not calling for questions on a personnel matter. McDaniel stressed that her question was an open-session question and asked, “Have we found someone to replace this person?”
“The answer is yes,” Reid said, but as she again called for the vote McDaniel interrupted again.
“I want the record to reflect I don’t know what your problem is tonight or who you’re trying to impress,” McDaniel began, but Reid hammered the gavel again.
“Please remove Ms. McDaniel,” Reid called to the deputy at the back of the gymnasium. “I’ve had enough. We’ve been out of order, out of order, out of order.”
McDaniel resisted, telling Reid that she did not have the authority to have her removed.
The “yes I can/no you can’t” face-off continued even after the deputy approached and stood waiting behind McDaniel.
Only when Reid called for a motion to adjourn did the standoff end.
Reid said Friday that she was seeking a legal opinion from the District’s attorneys on if, and how, a Board member may be removed from a meeting. Roberts Rules of Order, under which the Board operates, requires a vote by the Board before one of its members may be ejected, but whether that is a two-thirds vote or a simple majority is in question. Neither option was used in Reid’s attempt to remove McDaniel.
Emails to McDaniel seeking comment for this story were not returned at press time.
WINNSBORO – Although Dr. J.R. Green, Superintendent of Fairfield County Schools, classified as “disappointing” results from this year’s district and school report cards, released this month by the S.C. Department of Education, what was more disappointing, he said, was one School Board member’s misinterpretation of those results and her Facebook post stating the results indicated a “dysfunctional school board.”
The District as a whole received, for the third consecutive year, an Absolute Rating of Average, while its Growth Rating slipped from Excellent in 2013 to At-Risk this year.
“I wanted to see us get to ‘Good’ by this year,” Green said. “We came up short. But there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re going to keep working hard and we’ll get there. Our goals remain high.”
Green said an on-time graduation rate that stalled out below 80 percent was primarily the stumbling block. The District’s on-time graduation rate was 76.3 percent, which is slightly above that of other districts with similar students (76.2 percent). The District also out-performed similar districts on HSAP passage rates (85.9 percent to 85.3 percent) and on End of Course exam passage rates (65.4 to 56.9 percent).
Green said the increased number of “self-contained students” (students identified as having cognitive disabilities) who are not seeking a four-year diploma, but are instead seeking certificates, counted against the district’s on-time graduation rate, and represents a flaw in the grading system.
Board member Andrea Harrison (District 1) posted a scathing indictment of the Board and the District on her Facebook account on Nov. 19 after the report cards were released.
“Want to know the results of how a dysfunctional school board [sic]?!! SC Annual Report Card: Fairfield County . . . drumroll please . . . DROPPED from EXCELLENT to At-Risk!!!!!” Harrison’s post began. “Now what’s wrong with that picture?!!”
In an email to the Board and to members of the administration, Green responded on Nov. 20, “Administrators, teachers, students and parents have worked extremely hard to achieve these results, and for someone who is a part of our governing body to attempt to discredit their success is extremely disappointing. As you will see, Ms. Harrison presents the ‘Growth’ rating in her post to support her position that the district is not experiencing academic success.”
The District’s Absolute rating of Average for three years running is, Green said, the “most significant, sustained, academic success the district has experienced” at least since 2006, which is as far back as the Department of Education’s report card data goes.
Growth ratings represent the movement between scores from year to year, and a school or district can maintain a Good Absolute rating, for example, but have a Growth rating of At-Risk. Scores at a school or district could, for example, drop from 84 to 81. That school or district is still Average, but since the scores dropped 3 points from one year to the next, its Growth rating is At-Risk according to the report card system. Conversely, a failing school may see a Growth rating of Excellent if its scores move from 51 to 59, but the Absolute rating remains At-Risk.
“It is unreasonable to expect that any district would be in a state of perpetual growth,” Green wrote in his email last week.
Harrison, in her post, encouraged community members to attend Board meetings so they can find out “WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON!!”, she wrote, “I know 2 of us will tell you the TRUTH!!”
Green said he is also encouraging the District’s stakeholders to attend and that he plans to present at next month’s meeting facts related to the report cards detailing the District’s run of sustained academic success. He said he will ask Ms. Harrison to also present any evidence she has to the contrary.
Responding by email Monday night, Harrison wrote: “Pursuant to the S.C. Annual District Report Card Summary, in the Growth Rating Category, Fairfield County School District went from a rating of ‘Excellent’ in 2013, to an ‘At-Risk’ rating in 2014. My Facebook post did not misrepresent this public fact. As a School Board member in Fairfield County, and a champion of education, it is my desire that every parent, community member, etc., be involved in our children’s education, this includes attending school board meetings, which is crucial in ensuring the continued academic success of our children and our school district.”
This marks the third straight year of an Absolute rating of Below Average for FES, while their Growth rating is down from last year’s Average. Green said FES houses the largest concentration of Exceptional Ed students in the District, whose scores are calculated along with those of traditional students.
Geiger Elementary – Absolute rating: Average (second straight year). Growth rating: Excellent (also second straight year).
Kelly Miller Elementary – Absolute rating: Average (third year). Growth rating: Average (down from Excellent).
McCrorey-Liston School of Technology – Absolute rating: Average (second year). Growth rating: Average (down from Good).
Magnet School for Math and Science – Absolute rating: Excellent. Growth rating: Good. Second straight year of Absolute rating of Excellent; Growth rating up from Average last year.
Fairfield Middle School – Absolute rating: Average. Growth rating: Average. (Third consecutive year of Absolute and Growth ratings of Average).
Fairfield Central High School – Absolute rating: Average (third year). Growth rating: Below Average (down from Average).
Andrea HarrisonCarl Jackson Jr.Henry MillerMarvin RobertsonBeth Reid
WINNSBORO – With the Nov. 4 general elections only weeks away, The Voice is offering a series of brief question and answer sessions with candidates for County Council, School Board and Sixth Circuit Solicitor. This week, we hear from candidates for Fairfield County School Board districts 1, 3, 5 and 7. Only District 1 is offering a competitive race, as incumbent Andrea Harrison defends her seat against Marvin Robertson. All other races are unopposed.
We Asked:
1. Please provide a brief history of your education, training and employment.
2. Briefly describe any leadership roles you have taken in education, initiatives implemented, challenges faced, goals accomplished.
3. What do you see as the greatest challenge facing the Fairfield County School District and describe how your would meet that challenge?
4. What, in your mind, is the ideal role of a School Board member? How do you fit that image?
5. How would you classify the current direction of the School District? Is it moving in the right direction? The wrong direction? And if it is, in your opinion, moving in the wrong direction, how would you correct that course?
They Said:
District 1
Andrea Harrison (incumbent)
1. I am a proud product of the Fairfield County School District and I am currently enrolled as a student at Midlands Technical College. I was previously employed with Verizon Wireless.
2. The main leadership role that I have taken is simply having high standards in providing excellent and outstanding educational opportunities for the children of this district. Unfortunately, as Board members we are unable to take leadership roles in implementing initiatives, but I would hope that I have provided some constructive ideas to administration which they may have utilized in some way in the progression of the district. I constantly attempt to encourage us to work as a group with the same vision by conducting business in an ethical and moral manner in an effort to regain the confidence of this community, which is one of my major goals. In my opinion, there are no challenges, only opportunities to create a nationally recognized school district which is a major goal that I know we can accomplish.
3. The greatest challenge that I currently see is simply ensuring that we are pursuing innovative and creative ways of delivering education to our students. We must become and remain cutting edge to maintain student engagement in the classroom and beyond. As a board member, my part in meeting that challenge is responsibly supporting those innovative initiatives proposed by administration to attain our goals and mission.
4. There is no ideal role. Our role is very much defined. As with any other type “board” we are an oversight committee. Our job is to ensure the vision set for the advancement of the district is carried out according to policy and law, that taxpayer dollars are being utilizes properly, ethically and morally according to policy and the law, and establishing solid polices that will be a foundation of advancement for boards, administration and the district in the future. I am a responsible board member because I fully comprehend and abide by the roles and responsibilities of a board member.
5. As with any school district anywhere we have our issues. My belief is, when you have an issue you correct it, which I absolutely hope we are taking and creating every opportunity to do. When corrective action is taken with an attitude of a positive outcome, we have no choice but to move in the right direction and I do believe we are on our way.
Marvin Robertson
1. I’m a CNC operator at Spirax Sarco. I received my CNC degree from Midland Technical College. I’ve been employed with Spirax Sarco for 16 years. I also attended South Carolina State University for 2 1/2 years.
2. I have taken a personal education with my own children. I’ve been coaching recreational sports for the last 18 years.
3. My greatest challenge is improving school facilities, so they can be updated like other schools in South Carolina. I will work with the superintendent on planning for upcoming funds.
4. To be a voice for my community and a strategic board member on helping the superintendent of being part of the policy setting group.
5. The school board is moving slowly in the right direction, but if elected I will work hard to help the school board members and superintendent with goals ad mild improvements.
District 3
Henry Miller (incumbent)
1. 1974 graduate of Winnsboro High School; Attended Midland Technical College, Rock Hurst University, and Zingler Miller Institute – Specialized Supervisory Training; 8 years of service as a school board member; South Carolina School Board Association Level 6 Certification which is the highest level that one can achieve; Served 6 years on Fairfield County Behavior Board; Served 2 year on the Fairfield County Hospital Board; Supervisor for Michelin Tire Company for 23 years – Retired.
2. As a team member of the current school board of trustees, I have worked with the superintendent to enhance the use of technology for students in grades Pre-k – 12. One of our newest initiatives focuses on students bringing their own devices. We are currently working together to provide access to students to utilize chrome books, IPads and laptops at home and school; Working with the superintendent to increase the number of students participating in the STEM initiative and career center programs to include Engineering, Bio-Medical Science and other 21st century courses; Working together building a new career center
3. The greatest challenge I see facing Fairfield County School is working together to provide an early intervention program that will focus on children learning to read at the Pre-k4 level. I will meet the challenge by assisting to secure adequate Federal and State funding to secure early intervention programs for our students.
4. My ideal role of a school board member is to govern as a body and not as an individual. I am a team player that works well with others which includes the superintendent and the board.
5. Fairfield County School District is currently moving in the right direction. It is my desire that we continue to work together to enhance a culture of “Excellence Through Team Work.”
District 5
Carl E. Jackson Jr.
1. I grew up in Fairfield County. I served 3yrs. 8 mo. 11days in the U.S. Air Force. Undergraduate diploma received from Fairfield High School. Bachelor of Arts-Benedict College. Master’s Degree and 30+hrs.-USC at Columbia, S.C.
2. I have served as an educator in Fairfield County for 35 yrs. I served as teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, District Office Coordinator of Attendance, Adult Education teacher and Director; and Summer School Coordinator.
3. The greatest challenge facing the school district is to prepare our students for the current and future workforce. The academic technology is in place. We have to instill in the students the social skills to succeed by being dependable, reliable, and trainable.
4. I believe that Board Members should support the administration in the task of providing adequate teachers, facilities, and curriculum for the success of our students.
5. Currently, I believe that we are moving in the right direction with the curriculum, teachers, and facilities. We have to maintain proper support in every way that we can.
District 7
Elizabeth Reid (incumbent)
1. I hold graduate and undergraduate degrees in education from Winthrop University and the College of Charleston, respectively. I’ve spent more than 30 years in education and currently am employed as the Director of Elementary and Middle Schools at South Carolina Virtual Charter School.
2. My current position at SC Virtual Charter School has been a challenge. Being in an innovative situation, ensuring quality instruction to around 2000 k-8 students, and bringing a different approach to public education in SC has been exciting and fulfilling. Although I have accepted and embraced other leadership roles, the FCSD board of trustees has been the most challenging. My belief is that we have worked to regain the public trust as well as continuing to bring quality educational opportunities to all children in Fairfield County.
3. The greatest challenge is to continue the path that we’ve started. The leadership in place is accomplishing monumental goals and the current and future boards must continue to allow the leadership to lead, never reverting to the previous practice of micromanagement.
4. School board members must remember and practice their roles as policy makers with only one employee. Having worked for and served on various boards has given me the understanding of the importance of the role of the board member and I will continue to model that role.
5. I am thrilled with the direction of Fairfield County School District. I am hopeful that we continue to stay the course by providing excellent leadership for the school district.
WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County School District improved as a whole, while individual schools edged up or held steady over last year’s grades, according to letter grades released this week by the S.C. Department of Education. The grading system is part of the Federal Accountability System’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), with grades ranging from A to F.
The District overall earned a letter grade of C, with 72.4 total points. That is up from last year’s grade of D and 63.8 points.
Fairfield Central High School also earned a C in 2014 with 78.1 points, up from last year’s grade of D and 64.4 points.
Fairfield Middle School improved from last year’s 48.5 total points and a letter grade of F to 61.3 points and a letter grade of D in 2014.
The Magnet School for Math and Science dropped a few points, from 99.2 last year to 95.2 in 2014, but held onto its letter grade of A.
Geiger Elementary improved from 65.1 points and a letter grade of D in 2013 to 79.7 points and a letter grade of C in 2014.
Kelly Miller Elementary also improved, turning last year’s grade of C (72.7 points) to a B (80.5 points) in 2014.
The McCrorey-Liston School of Technology lost a few points, from 84.8 in 2013 to 83.7 in 2014, but maintained its letter grade of B.
Fairfield Elementary, while lifting its total points from 39 last year to 50.6 in 2014, was hit with its second consecutive letter grade of F.
BLYTHEWOOD – The Richland 2 School District showed minor improvement overall, while local schools showed mixed results according to letter grades released this week by the S.C. Department of Education. The grading system is part of the Federal Accountability System’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), with grades ranging from A to F.
Numbers for the District as a whole crept up from 81.8 last year to 85.9 in 2014, while maintaining its letter grade of A.
Blythewood High School’s letter grade improved from a B in 2013 (80.9 total points) to an A (93.7) in 2014, meeting state objectives in all categories. Westwood High School, which did not receive a grade last year, earned a B this year with 81.5 total points. WHS was 1-tenth shy of English Language Arts objectives, 2-tenths shy in Science and 3-tenths in Math and History.
Blythewood Middle School’s total points fell from 86.1 last year to 82.7 this year, but maintained its letter grade of B.
Kelly Mill Middle, meanwhile, fell from a B (83.5 total points) last year to a C (78.9) in 2014. Muller Road Middle also dropped from a C (74.8) in 2013 to a D (68.4) this year.
Bethel-Hanberry Elementary School lost a few points, from 93.9 last year to 97.4 in 2014, while maintaining its letter grade of A.
Lake Carolina Elementary held steady with back to back years with 100 total points and a letter grade of A.
Langford Road Elementary also maintained its letter grade of A, although dropping a few points from 97.4 last year to 93.3 in 2014. Round Top Elementary improved to a letter grade of A (91.1 total points) in 2014 over last year’s B (87.1).
