Dr. Karen Woodward, Superintendent of Lexington One

MidlandsBiz:
What is your background in education?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
I have an undergraduate degree in history and English and education. I have been a teacher, a school administrator, an assistant superintendent and a superintendent. So, I have come up through the ranks.

MidlandsBiz:
What about the doctor part?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
Yes, I also earned an Ed.D. in curriculum and administrative supervision from the University of Georgia.

MidlandsBiz:
You have concerns about the change in the way the schools are funded in the state. How has the funding changed and what impact do you see it having on the performance at our schools?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
Act 388 passed by the legislature last year is a property tax relief act that replaces the property taxes that the school districts receive from owner-occupied property with money generated by a new statewide one-cent sales tax increase. That law included a cap which prohibits school districts from increasing their tax revenue beyond the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus growth.

There are many problems. Poorer districts will never be able to put in place now some of the educational opportunities that we have here in Lexington One. In the past the citizens of Lexington One were willing to pay for the increased cost of an excellent education. Other districts do not have the tax base able or willing to do that. Now this change in strategy freezes those inequities in place.

The current system does not go far enough in providing the additional resources that are needed in poor districts. Additionally, school districts will be unable to reach or maintain the type of educational excellence that our children deserve.

For fast growing districts, too, that funding formula simply does not provide enough money to keep up with growth. We are worried about the impact on Lexington One. We are growing 500 students a year, the equivalent of one school. All the projections show that we are not even going to be able to maintain the budget we have with that type of growth. We will have to cut educational programs.

The taxes that we raise within the cap can only be applied against business and other non owner-occupied property. We think that is going to hurt economic development and our local business owners. We don’t want to shift the tax burden onto businesses.

MidlandsBiz:
What are some of the key milestone events in the history of education in the state?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
A major milestone was the legislation that set up how our schools would be funded. Our schools are financed under the EFA (Education Finance Act) that was passed back in the 1970’s. It was a good piece of legislation at the time and is still the preferred model used in many states. It is an equitable way of doing things, but it needs to be updated.

It’s time that we looked at the overall system we have in place to deliver revenue for education and how that revenue is allocated. Tax experts agree that you need a diverse funding system for education. You really need a three legged stool — income tax, sales tax and state funding. Why would you want to fund something as important as the state education system with just one form of revenue like sales tax? Sales tax has been proven to be one of the more unstable sources of revenue. In any case the EFA was a major milestone event.

Briggs versus Elliott was the first of four cases that were combined into the Brown versus Board of Education case, the case which historically and officially overturned racial segregation in U.S. public schools. The case challenged segregation in Summerton, South Carolina.

Other legislative milestones would include the legislation that established our nationally known technical college system, mandatory school attendance, and the Education Improvement Act, a reform act to improve education.

MidlandsBiz:
What weaknesses still exist in our education system?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
We need to improve academically. We have some of the best schools in the nation. We also have too many students under performing.

We need to improve school facilities. The state does very little to provide quality facilities. It’s all up to local school districts. Five years ago, the state did a 750 million dollar bond issue, which was of great assistance, but it was not enough and it was not a way of addressing the persistent problems that school districts are facing. For poor districts that don’t have the tax base or any other way of paying off a bond issue, they have no way of upgrading their facilities. In Lexington we have a tax base. We also had a referendum and people voted overwhelmingly in favor of the bond issue – it was phenomenal support and as a result our students have quality, up-to-date facilities .We very much appreciate that support.

And of course funding is a weakness. We have already talked about that. I would simply add that a great weakness for our state is not providing for educational excellence.

MidlandsBiz:
Under the recent EEDA (Education and Economic Development Act) a student’s education is going to be more tightly tied to areas of competitive advantage, or clusters, in the state.

Dr. Karen Woodward:
The truth is that education and economic development cannot be separated. You can’t develop and be competitive in your business in the 21st century unless you have highly qualified employees. Our state can’t attract high tech businesses that will help grow the per capita income in the state if we don’t have a high quality education. I’ve been directly involved in economic development in the state and the first question that people ask is, How are the schools?

You are not going to have flourishing businesses unless others perceive that South Carolina is a good place to be because we have good schools.

If we want a corporate headquarters to locate here, if we want to expand the fuel cell economy, we have to be able to produce the kind of employees that can support that kind of business. We had a business recently interested in locating here and one of the first questions that they asked was do we have the international baccalaureate (IB) program?

I’m not a bit bashful about saying that I love this state. My vision for the state is that we flourish in a 21st century economy. We cannot do that unless we have the quality education to support that vision.

MidlandsBiz:
How well are we doing at linking education to areas of clusters.

Dr. Karen Woodward:
We are just beginning to push this out statewide and it’s really exciting. Curriculum is organized around clusters of study like engineering, health sciences or arts and humanities. Schools can update the courses they offer to support the goals of our students which can, in turn, support our economic development initiatives as well. For example, Lexington One has added nanotechnology and bioengineering to our curriculum. We believe that these are important areas for our students’ career choices and can support our state’s initiative to be competitive. Engineering is another example of a major that many schools across the state are developing.

We currently have five schools of study in our district. Under those schools of study, we have majors. The students and the parents focus on the majors. A student might say I’m really interested in math and science. I like to build things and tear them apart. I want to be an engineer. The guidance counselor and the student sit down in the eighth grade and they think about the ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade course of study. Of course all students have to take the core academic program (English, mathematics, science, social studies) and meet graduation and college requirements. The majors g
ive students a focus and basis for deciding their electives.

The response that we have had from our students and parents has been extremely positive. They have loved it. So this helps students and parents and can help our overall state goal to raise the per capita income of our citizens.

MidlandsBiz:
Is the eighth grade too young to pick a path?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
First, the path is simply a general direction that can be changed as the student goes through high school. The choice of a major is not hard and fast but flexible.

When I was growing up, this kind of discussion was commonplace around the dinner table from an early age. We had candid conversations about our interests, how to prepare ourselves to excel in this area of interest. I remember accompanying my father often — observing him and others at work. This kind of discussion is not as common today. Shadowing, apprenticeships and work study opportunities common in today’s schools really help in this area.

And, there are so many choices out there for students to consider that things often are confusing. It is as valuable to be able to eliminate majors as a potential career. We have found that the individual graduation plan process provides more focus, more meaning to the high school experience; and it provides a personalization of the education process. That is very important to us here in Lexington One.

MidlandsBiz:
What are you excelling in at Lexington One?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
I am most proud of the support for a world class education and excellence from the Lexington One Team and the parents and community of our district. I am proud of our very caring staff who are generous to those unfortunate and who care enough to do the very best. We have said to each other that we want the best education our students can have and that we are going to do whatever it takes to get there.

I’m proud of the fact that our district provides equity in every school. We believe that every school and every classroom should have the same advantage.

I am proud of the rich, contemporary program of studies that we offer our students. Students have many choices among many cutting edge offerings. We work hard to provide a solid academic foundation and a progressive program of studies.

I’m proud of our new foreign language partial immersion program in our district that promotes a higher degree of proficiency. That program will eventually feed into the IB program where second language fluency is required.

I am proud of the 21st century teaching and learning tools that we are providing. This spring every classroom in all of our 24 schools will have smart technology that helps make learning come alive.

I am proud that our students continue to excel.

MidlandsBiz:
What role do you see technology playing in the classroom?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
Technology is really a tool for teaching and for learning. Previously it might have been the overhead projector; today’s teaching tools are smart technology. Using smart technology with smart interactive boards, document cameras, on the fly access to the internet, and streaming video students are able to interact in the learning process — using all their senses while learning. I wish I’d had these tools when I first started teaching.

The most important part of technology is that it engages students and helps students know how to learn, apply information and make smart decisions. In today’s world, that’s critical. I read recently that learning is today’s new job.

MidlandsBiz:
How are the AP programs doing?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
We have more than doubled the number of AP students in the last two years. We agree that AP is where we need to be.

MidlandsBiz:
What is your favorite book?

Dr. Karen Woodward:
Beside mystery novels, which I absolutely love, I recently picked up The Starbuck’s Experience, 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary. I think we all could learn from them. Listen to the customer. Personalize the experience. Take care of your employees.

The lesson that I liked the most actually was that in business, everything matters. I love visioning and talking about the big picture, but a vision without execution isn’t worth much. You have to connect the big idea with the details. Everything matters!