Driving educational transformation and teacher success

BATESBURG-LEESVILLE, SC – The Center of Excellence for Educator Preparation and Innovation (EPI Center) is celebrating a year of unprecedented growth, national recognition and measurable impact on the educational landscape. Through strategic community partnerships, rigorous professional development and innovative workforce solutions, the EPI Center has solidified its role as a premier force in elevating instructional quality.

From classrooms across South Carolina to other parts of the country, EPI’s multi-tiered approach is successfully addressing critical teacher shortages and advancing student achievement. The EPI Center’s commitment to empowering educators was on full display through several high-impact initiatives over the past year:

• National Board Certification Pipeline – EPI successfully guided 22 educators from Barnwell, Richland One, Richland Two and Orangeburg school districts through the rigorous National Board Certification process. Expanding its national footprint, EPI is now mentoring more than 200 additional teachers across a three-year journey, including approximately 65 educators in Maryland. Intensive boot camps in Columbia, South Carolina, and at the University of Maryland have provided candidates with crucial individualized coaching.
• IMPACT Writing Clinics – Bridging evidence-based strategies with teacher-driven innovation, EPI’s winter writing clinics equipped teachers to implement Improvement Science in today’s classrooms. The initiative has served 60 schools across 26 district partners, executing 108 improvement cycles and supporting 153 certified teachers and 130 fellows, impacting 1,758 students.
• Statewide Literacy Summit – EPI convened more than 200 educators from across South Carolina for a premier Literacy Summit. Featuring a keynote by Dr. Brandi Hinnant-Crawford and workshops co-led by The Reading League and Discovery Education, the summit provided attendees with actionable toolkits to elevate literacy instruction.
• Community Capacity Building – EPI hosted a “GrantED: Science and Strategy of Winning Proposals” workshop at its Batesburg-Leesville headquarters, training business professionals, church leaders and educators on navigating the federal grant landscape to secure vital project funding.

To combat the ongoing teacher shortage, EPI launched the Educators Prepared to Impact Communities (EPIC) Apprenticeship. Registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, this alternative certification program helps classified school staff transition into licensed teaching roles. Recently recognized by Apprenticeship Carolina as a vital workforce solution, EPIC hosted a major multi-district engagement session attended by Charles Vaughan, South Carolina state director for the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship.

EPI’s academic support structures also yielded historic results at the university level. During Voorhees University’s largest commencement in more than a decade, approximately 33% of all graduates received direct professional development from the EPI Center to pass the national Praxis exam and secure teaching positions. This impact was especially pronounced at the graduate level, benefiting 38 of the 55 Master of Education and MBA recipients.

Additionally, EPI’s leadership team earned several prestigious honors:

• Dr. Shelly Meyers received the Palmetto State Literacy Association Leadership Award.
• Carla Carpenter Adams was honored with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award from the South Carolina Alliance of Black School Educators (SCABSE).
• Dr. Katrina Pitts received an honorable mention for the National Council on Black American Affairs Northeast Region Dissertation of the Year Award.
• Dr. Jennifer Logan was selected as a peer reviewer for the English Journal (NCTE) and will be featured in Columbia Metropolitan Magazine.
• Dr. Tondaleya Green Jackson was appointed to the American Council on Education (ACE) Women’s Network Executive Committee for the 2026–2029 term.
• Dr. Damara Hightower Mitchell was appointed to the City Year Columbia Board of Directors.

Through the EPI Center’s IMPACT Virtual Instructional Coaching program, three South Carolina educators reached landmark professional milestones this year:

• Teneshia Bridges (Richland Two) led Conder Elementary to become a Nationally Certified Demonstration Magnet School.
• Dr. Wanda Green-Adams (Calhoun County) spearheaded her campus becoming an inaugural SCABSE Demonstration School.
• Jessica McCormick (Orangeburg County) achieved National Board Certification in Literacy.

Driven by a resolute leadership team and fueled by powerful community partnerships, the EPI Center looks forward to another year of elevating instructional quality and creating lasting academic impact.

About the EPI Center

The EPI Center is a self-sustaining national 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 2021 on the campus of Voorhees University by founder and CEO Dr. Damara Hightower Mitchell. The organization was created to redefine educator preparation through pathbreaking, research-driven approaches. With a commitment to elevating teacher effectiveness, the EPI Center provides a comprehensive continuum of services designed to equip educators with the skills, knowledge and support necessary to drive student success.

The EPI Center is located at 423 College Street in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina.