Twenty-two Fellows Selected for 2024 South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered (SCALE) Fellowship

SCALE equips emerging afterschool and expanded learning leaders with the resources, frameworks, partnerships, and curriculum-curating skills to advance education programming in South Carolina.

Twenty-two afterschool and summer program leaders from across the state have been selected to join the third cohort of South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered (SCALE) Fellows. SCALE is a 10-month fellowship offered by The Riley Institute in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education.

SCALE Fellows are selected by a national committee of field experts. Each cohort is made up of participants from backgrounds that reflect the diversity of South Carolina’s education system.

The fellowship and associated professional development opportunities are focused on addressing educational challenges by implementing best practices.

After a week of immersive programming at Furman University, scheduled for January 28-February 1, fellows begin monthly webinars about program design and assessment, equitable and trauma-informed relationship building skills, arts-integration, and leadership skills. Dr. Terry Peterson and Ron Fairchild are among the field experts who play a crucial role in developing the SCALE curriculum and facilitating the participant learning experience.

With support from the South Carolina Department of Education and American Rescue Plan funding, SCALE is offered free of charge to participants. By preparing leaders to implement research-based practices into their afterschool and expanded learning programming and culminating in a related capstone project, SCALE has emerged as a critical educator program in our state.

“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of afterschool and summer programming to support our education system and keep working families functioning was thrown into stark relief,” says SCALE Director Amy Keely. “Our SCALE fellowship is designed to help professionalize this critical area of work so that programs produce better outcomes for children and secure funding and resources to sustain their service to South Carolina students and families.”

Listed below are the 2024 SCALE Fellows.

Ginger Beasley
Program Director
Teach My People
Pawleys Island

Bobby Black
Prevention and Intervention Coordinator
South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
Columbia

Ruby Bridges
Local Programs Manager
Children’s Defense Fund
Bennettsville

Kesha Bryan
Assistant Principal
Colleton County School District
Ladson

Daphne Cuadrado Andino
Visual Arts Teaching Artist
South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities
Greenville

Bennett Dixon
Program Director
Poe Mill Achievement Center
Greenville

Amanda Dorris
Director of Testing & Accountability
Williamsburg County School District
Kingstree

Sharol Ellerbe
Teacher Assistant and Site Coordinator of Afterschool
T.H.E. CDF 21^st Century Afterschool
Bennettsville

Cameron Gentry
Program Coordinator
Original Six Foundation
Pomaria

Karron Griffin
Site Coordinator
Expanded Learning – Kaleidoscope
Charleston

Tiffany Howard
Director of Prevention and Intervention
South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
Blythewood

Chon Jackson
Afterschool Director
Pee Dee Math, Science and Technology Academ
Bishopville

Robyn Jackson
Prevention & Intervention Coordinator
South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice
Columbia

Chalena Mcilwain
Program Director
Beyond Our Walls
Mount Pleasant

Tyece Newberry
Area Director
Boys & Girls Club of York County
York

Trina Noonan
Site Coordinator
Expanded Learning – Kaleidoscope
Mt. Pleasant

Holly Rhett Hayden
After School/Summer Camp Director
Empowered Minds
Sullivans Island

Julius Scott
Community Support Services Coordinator
School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties
Irmo

Troy Thames
Executive Director
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Midlands
Columbia

Andre’ Webb
Program Director
Mosaic Educational and Arts Program
Greenville

Traci Weldie
Auxiliary Programs Director
Christ Church Episcopal School
Greenville

Michael Woods
Director of Programs & Evaluation
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area
Florence

 

About the Riley Institute at Furman University

Furman University’s Richard W. Riley Institute advances social and economic progress in South Carolina and beyond by building leadership for a diverse society, broadening student and community perspectives on critical issues, hosting expert speakers, supporting public education, and creating knowledge through community solutions-focused research. It is committed to nonpartisanship in all it does and to a rhetoric-free, facts-based approach to change.