Riley Institute Website Adds Section on Individualized Education
June 25, 2011
GREENVILLE, SC – June 25, 2011 – “WhatWorksSC,” a Riley Institute at Furman University project that researches and details the best practices in public education, has added the newest and final section to its website. Each section will continue to grow and evolve as entries are added and updated.The addition is “Making Education More Individualized for Students,” one of the areas that South Carolina citizens have described as key to improving the state’s public schools.
The goal of WhatWorksSC, the second phase of the Riley Institute’s statewide public education project, is to provide comprehensive information for South Carolina educators and policy makers. Other sections on the website include in-depth studies of community learning centers, early childhood education, dropout prevention, effective teaching, and school leadership.
The newest section on individualized education includes a report co-authored by Dr. Valerie Harrison, former Deputy Superintendent in the South Carolina State Department of Education, and Dr. Paul Thomas, a Furman education professor. There is also a case study on Anderson County’s “Project Lead the Way” and an evolving clearinghouse of other successful initiatives in the state.
The public education project is being carried out by the Riley Institute’s Center for Education and Policy Leadership (CEPL). The initial study centered around 3,000 hours of interviews with nearly 800 people representing every school district in the state, including businesspersons, parents, students, school board members, teachers, superintendents and principals.
The Riley Institute education study is funded by a multi-year grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
The Institute is named for Furman graduate and former South Carolina governor and U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. It offers a broad array of programs designed to engage students and citizens across South Carolina in the various arenas of politics, public policy and public leadership.
For more information, visit the CEPL website or call the Center for Education Policy and Leadership at 864-294-3541.
