TransformSC bus tour takes lawmakers, business leaders, and education advocates to Florence, Sumter schools

TransformSC, an initiative of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, took a group of 40 policymakers, business leaders, educators, and education advocates on a tour of schools in Florence and Sumter for a first-hand look at the innovation in education that is happening in South Carolina’s Pee Dee region.

The group visited the Child Development Center at Woods Road in Florence before traveling to Sumter to tour Bates Middle School and, later, the Sumter Career and Technology Center where students from the culinary arts program served the group lunch and students in the aerospace program shared their engineering projects.

At each stop, the group had candid conversations with principals, teachers, and students, and observed students actively engaged in learning. Dr. Peggy Torrey, Director of TransformSC, said that the annual bus tour has become a valuable program that highlights how forward-thinking schools, particularly those in the TransformSC network, are changing the whole paradigm of instruction and seeing success.

“Talking about change is one thing, but seeing it in action is another, ”said Dr. Torrey. “It’s important for our stakeholders to experience transformed education in schools all across the state and to hear about the results that these schools are beginning to see. We can tell them that these schools have increased student engagement, decreased absences, increased achievement in both soft skills and academics, and higher teacher satisfaction. However, it is far more effective for us to take them to the schools and show them.”

Representative Raye Felder, who serves as First Vice Chair of the House Education and Public Works Committee, was among the group of bus tour participants and said that the day was time well spent with students and educators. “It’s always good to get out to the schools and see what the students are learning. From the Childhood Development Center at Woods Road on up to Bates Middle School and the Sumter Career and Technology Center, these institutions are doing remarkable work. They’re grooming kids for success beginning at a very early age and continuing that work on through high-school.”

Representative Terry Alexander, who represents Florence and Darlington Counties and also serves on the House Education and Public Works Committee participated in the bus tour as well and said that the schools visited exemplify the successes of the TransformSC model. “I was very impressed with what we saw today. These schools, right here in the Pee Dee, are leading the charge in changing education in our state and what they’re doing is working.”

Susie Shannon, President and CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, said that the on-going success of the TransformSC bus tour is due, in large part, to the program’s unique ability to connect education advocates with their work. “This is the third year that we’ve had the bus tour and each year it continues to be impactful to the participants. The first year we toured schools in the Midlands and last year we visited Greenville schools. The fact that we were able to bring the event to the Pee Dee this year shows that transformation in education isn’t limited to any single region but that it is happening throughout the state. And when our participants can really spend a day engaging with students, teachers, and administrators at the schools that are leading the change, it leaves a real impression.”

To learn more about TransformSC can visit the website at http://www.sccompetes.org/transformsc or contact Peggy Torrey at [email protected].