RIDGEWAY – Geiger Elementary School principal Myra Bramlett awarded second grade teacher Blair Branham, left, the Rookie Teacher of the Year award this week. Branham, a graduate of Blythewood High School, graduated from Columbia College in 2017. She joined Geiger in August of 2018. Branham’s second grade teammate, Lori Yarborough was awarded Geiger’s Teacher of the Year award.
WINNSBORO – Above, are the Fairfield County School District teachers who are participating in the first year of the District’s two-year program that provides support for teachers interested in pursuing national certification with minimal financial investment. The two year program helps them to achieve their goal of applying for and being awarded national certification, according to presenter Patti Scofield. From left: Jalisa Wright, Michael Lindsay, Emily Johnson, Craig Jones and Robin Gaither.
Below, School Board Chair William Frick stands with those Fairfield School District teachers who currently hold national certification Back row, from left: Yolanda Singletary, Lori Yarborough, Patti Scofield, Deborah Cooper, Vera Harrison, Teresa Canzater and Tara Blocker. Front row, from left: Jean Masdonati, Marsha Huff and Sheila Beaver. Scofield said this is the first time the District’s nationally certified teachers have been publicly recognized and she thanked the board for the opportunity for allowing that recognition.
BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood High School junior Abhimanhu Sailesh was honored by the Richland Two School Board recently for having presented two academic papers at the prestigious peer-reviewed 2018 International Conference on Computational Science and Computational Intelligence that was held in Las Vegas, Dec. 13 – 15.
The papers will be published in the fall of 2019 in the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering) journal, which describes itself as the most reputed world-wide academic publication in the fields of computer science, electrical and electronic engineering.
Sailesh’s first paper, in which he is the first author, is titled “Comparison of two image enhancement techniques: Histogram Equalization and Gamma Method” and was written in collaboration with Dr. Naima Naheed, an associate professor at Benedict College. The second paper, titled “High Frequency Emphasis Filter Instead of Homomorphic Filter,” is also written in collaboration with Dr. Naheed and two other undergraduate senior students.
Sailesh has won numerous academic competitions and honors at BHS, and finished as runner-up in the 2017 South Carolina State Spelling Bee as well as the spelling bee Bowl Championships at North Greenville University last year. Sailesh accomplished these fetes as a one-member team competing against four-member teams.
COLUMBIA – Despite several members facing ethical and criminal sanctions, the Richland Two Board of Trustees voted against a policy designed to increase their accountability.
On Tuesday night, the board voted 4-3 against a board policy revision that would have empowered the board to discharge office holders by a supermajority vote.
“The board may, with a vote of five members, remove a board officer from his/her office, for cause, as determined by the board,” the proposed policy change states.
“In such a case, or in any case where there is a vacancy in a board office, the board may as soon as practical elect a member to fill the vacated office for the remainder of the term.”
Board chair Amelia McKie and board members James Shadd III, Cheryl Caution-Parker and Teresa Holmes voted against the policy change.
Board members James Manning, Lindsay Agostini and Monica Elkins-Johnson voted to support the policy.
The vote comes in the wake of a disorderly conduct charge filed against board secretary Monica Elkins-Johnson.
A Richland County Sheriff’s Office report states Elkins-Johnson was involved in a shoving match with Erica Davis, the sister of state Sen. Mia McLeod, following the Jan. 22 board meeting.
A second report states that Elkins-Johnson threatened Stacy McKie, husband of Amelia McKie.
It also comes amid the S.C. Ethics Commission fining Amelia McKie $51,750 for failing to file numerous campaign disclosure reports.
Several other board members failed to file various ethics reports, doing so only after a series of investigative reports by The Voice.
Elkins-Johnson issues statement
Elkins-Johnson, 51, turned herself in to the sheriff’s office on Jan. 31 and was charged with disorderly conduct. She was released on a $237.50 personal recognizance bond, and the next court date is scheduled for March 18, according to Richland County court records.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Elkins-Johnson read a prepared statement, her first public remarks since Jan. 31.
In her statement, she apologized for “the language that I used” following the Jan. 22 board meeting, and also thanked friends and family for their support.
However, she also placed some blame on “the misconduct of others,” though she didn’t identify those people by name. She said her behavior after the meeting was out of character.
“When several people violated my space, it took me to an unfamiliar level, which I am not proud of as a servant leader and as a result I ask for your forgiveness,” Elkins-Johnson said.
“As always I have learned from this and will certainly use this as a teachable moment. Therefore, one moment out of my character does not and will not define me.”
Caution-Parker also addressed board behavior, saying all board members are responsible for their own actions.
“When we’re going to criticize a board member, take everybody into consideration, not just one,” Caution-Parker said. “We’re responsible for our passions, no matter what we do, no matter the circumstances. We are fully grown people and we are responsible for what we do and what we don’t do.”
Board member Teresa Holmes summed up her own comments with, “Let’s just all hold hands and say kumbaya.”
Board members mull policy
Those voting against the policy Tuesday night said it was too vague. McKie took issue with the phrase “for cause.”
Shadd III, who was fined $13,000 by the ethics commission in 2014, also took issue with the “for cause” terminology.
He suggested the policy proposal was reactionary, saying sanctions for legal troubles some board members face already exist in state law.
“What does ‘just cause’ mean?” Shadd III asked. “Failing to file reports with the ethics commission; there is a consequence to that. Failure to pay fines; there is a consequence to that.”
Caution-Parker said she would only support the policy revision if it went into effect July 1. She vehemently opposed any application of the policy that went into effect immediately.
“I have a major, major problem about how this all came about,” Caution-Parker said. “It’s almost like a mob mentality. Somebody did something, so we’re going to pass this.”
Manning said all policies the board has ever passed went into effect immediately upon approval and asked why this one should be different. He also disputed assertions that the policy targets anyone. He said it has many hypothetical applications, including absenteeism, misrepresentation or other actions.
“It’s made us review the policy and realize there’s a gap in the policy that needs to be addressed,” he said. “We have a gap that needs to be corrected, not a mob mentality about any individuals.”
Agostini emphasized the policy wasn’t designed to remove a member from the board, only to strip them of officer positions, which include chair, vice-chair and secretary.
“This policy is not removing somebody from the board,” she said.
Later in the meeting, Agostini read aloud an email from a constituent who expressed embarrassment over McKie’s ethics fines amid the recently approved $468 million bond referendum funding various school construction projects.
“How can I reasonably expect that our chairwoman can manage nearly a half billion dollar bond when she cannot manage a simple ethics filing,” Agostini said, reading from the letter.
Superintendent addresses ethics
In related matters, Dr. Baron Davis, district superintendent, acknowledged a blemish existed in his own ethics filings.
Reading from a prepared statement, Davis said shortly after his hiring in 2017, he was unfamiliar with an ethics commission requirement that superintendents file Statements of Economic Interest, or SEI, forms.
Davis said while filing his 2019 forms, he noticed that he didn’t file his 2018 form (for the 2017 year) within 10 days of officially becoming superintendent.
“I did not know that and I did not file. I admitted those things once I started overlooking the process of our filings,” he said. “After realizing my oversight I quickly alerted the commission who never contacted me about the oversight.”
Davis said he’s since filed an amended SEI form and paid a $100 fine.
“I share this information on my own free will and in an effort to remain transparent and honest in my community,” he said. “That’s something I wanted to share publicly so we can close the chapter and move forward with the day to day operations of this outstanding district.”
MYRTLE BEACH – Westwood High School’s Robotics Team will compete in the Palmetto Regional competition Feb. 28 – Mar. 2 in Myrtle Beach for the sixth time. The three-day competition showcases robots developed and operated by high school teams from all over the world. The team is comprised of 22 students in grades 9 – 12.
WINNSBORO – Two students from Fairfield County have been distinguished as being among 2,000 semi-finalists out of 33,000 applicants for one of 300 Bill and Melinda Gates scholarships. The prestigious scholarships cover up to $200,000 each for winners to attend any college or university of their choice within the United States.
One of those students, Lamar Richards, a senior, lives in Fairfield County and now attends the Richland One Middle College, a free, public charter school on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The other is Janiece Jackson, a senior at Fairfield Central High School.
Aside from being a semifinalist for the Gates scholarship, Lamar Richards has already been accepted to 11 top universities in the nation, with offers of full rides from Louisiana State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Furman.
The scholarship offer to LSU came after Richards and project partner Austin Greer earned first place in Engineering and Technology at a research conference in Baton Rouge last summer. Their win marked the first time in the conference’s history for a high school team to be invited to the undergraduate competition, let alone take home the win.
“That was a really great experience and it was even more incredible to win,” Richards stated. “It was a lot of hard work to get there, and it was very gratifying to have that hard work recognized.”
The project focused on creating fresh alternatives to dental-ware currently on the market that is both aesthetically pleasing and cost-effective. Richards is now preparing to publish that winning work and submit it to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and to the Hill Research Conference in Washington, D.C.
Richards and Greer are now raising funds to travel to the national competition. Several foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, have shown interest in replicating Richards’ and Greers’ research once it has been published, Richards told The Voice.
“We expect to publish in March,” Richards said. “We’ve been working on it since last summer. Because our research was government funded, foundations such as the Gates’ will have access to it. It’s all pretty exciting for us.”
Last weekend, Richards received another distinction – induction into his school district’s Hall of Fame as a “Legend in the Making.” And with his myriad academic achievements, his supporters say the label is likely prophetic.
In addition to being in the lead for valedictorian of his class that will graduate in June, Richards carries a perfect 4.0 GPA, taking 15 high-level college courses and electives along the way in highbrow areas of study such as organic chemistry, microbiology, biomedical engineering and 10 other Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
Richards attributes his success partly to surrounding himself with likeminded peers to help him keep his focus.
“I’ve had some great people in my life who supported me in going after the opportunities that are out there,” Richards said.
In looking to the future, Richards said he hopes to be a surgeon and medical researcher, but that he also intends to seek an MBA so that he can also serve in an executive leadership position.
One of Richards’ mentors, Dr. Jackie Long, a professor of biology at Midlands Tech downtown campus, said that Richards’ hard work throughout his young life has earned him these deserved accolades.
“Lamar is a highly talented and academically-decorated student. He continuously strives to attain the next level of excellence, and does not easily deter at the first sign of failure,” Long stated. “He is persistent in his pursuit of a rigorous education.”
While growing up in Winnsboro, Richards attended local public schools. In first grade he was invited to apply to the magnet school for math and science. While attending Fairfield Central High School, he was accepted into the SC Governor’s School.
As the oldest of three children in a single parent home for much of his life, Richards credits the support of his mother, Alexis Perry, and his grandmother, Earlene Byrd Adams, for his perseverance to tackle challenges.
“My grandmother was a big part of my life from early on,” Richards recalls. “I still remember her walking me to my first day of preschool, and she really cultivated in me the drive to never give up.”
Richards said he expects to be the first in his family to ever attend college.
“I want to show my family that this is possible and that it can happen,” he stated.
WINNSBORO – Two students from Fairfield County have been distinguished as being among 2,000 semi-finalists out of 33,000 applicants for one of 300 Bill and Melinda Gates scholarships. The prestigious scholarships cover up to $200,000 each for winners to attend any college or university of their choice within the United States.
One of those students, Lamar Richards, a senior, lives in Fairfield County and now attends the Richland One Middle College, a free, public charter school on the campus of the University of South Carolina. The other is Janiece Jackson, a senior at Fairfield Central High School.
Janiece Jackson is a Fairfield teen wonder with a string of credentials that have boosted her into the stratosphere of Gates Scholarship semifinalist status.
But that’s not her only offer for a full-ride. Jackson has already been accepted into 20 colleges and universities including such prestigious schools as Louisiana State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of South Carolina, Clemson, Wofford and Furman where she’s been offered full funding for her academic prowess.
But none of this comes as a surprise. Jackson was a Duke TIP Scholar in seventh grade based on her soaring ACT scores, is president of her chapter of the National Honor Society and was the top student in the second division math category at the State Beta Club convention.
Jackson has also been named Most Outstanding Student in at least two classes for each of the last three years at FCHS. She’s taken a number of AP courses and, with dual enrollment, she’s on track to graduate with a two-year degree from Midlands Technical College before she receives her diploma from Fairfield Central High School this spring.
And speaking of graduation, Jackson said she has been number one in her class since the second semester of last year, virtually guaranteeing her status as Valedictorian when she graduates in June.
But while she excels in the world of academia, Jackson’s focus is rooted on the simple desire to use her academic strengths to help others.
“I want to study something in college that I know I’m going to use, like math,” Jackson said. “I like math a lot and I want to apply that somewhere that I can help people. I’m thinking about a statistician or actuary, so I can help people identify risk and what percent of risk everything is in their life – like life insurance, family insurance, things like that. It’s a field I’m interested in. I like to help people.”
To that end, high on Jackson’s list is community service. She has visited the senior citizens at Pruitt Health where she entertained them and brought them snacks. She tutors her peers in the district and in the community.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jackson come to Fairfield County in 2006 where she started kindergarten.
“My grandfather brought our extended family down here from Brooklyn,” Jackson said. “He brought all of us down South and most of us are still here. Most are still here.”
Like her friend Lamar Richards, Jackson credits her mother, Angela Jackson, a clerk at Fairfield Memorial Hospital before it closed, and her grandmother for inspiring her life.
While she says she’s not entirely focused on academics – “I like to watch You Tube, Netflix and read romance, fantasy and sci-fi books” – she says it is her interest in reading and writing that have helped her become successful as a student.
“My grandmother instilled in me a lot of the things I’m about,” Jackson said. “She read the newspaper to me and we worked the crossword puzzles together. Even now, I think of her when I read. She meant a lot to me and I’m grateful for what she did for me.”