Education Reform Bill Detailed
February 12, 2020
A 63-page bill in the SC Senate would mean more changes in the state’s public schools rather than true education reform, according to Pam Mills, guest speaker at Capital Rotary’s Feb. 12 meeting. Mills (in photo with Rotarians Bob Davis at left and Mike Montgomery) assists the SC Association of School Administrators with legislative matters. She outlined several recommendations for the much-debated measure: (1) a shift from focusing on accountability and assessment toward “letting teachers teach the way they know how, with love and enthusiasm, rather than just meeting pacing deadlines”; (2) restore a sense of status and respect for the teaching profession, plus strengthen the home-school connection for more parental support and better classroom discipline; (3) facilities improvements to ensure that all schools are safe environments conducive for learning; and (4) offer expanded industry certification and college-credit programs so that students would graduate “with more than a diploma.” Mills, an alumnus of Columbia College, previously was the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s press secretary, served as Governor’s School for the Arts admissions director, and retired from the Greenville County School District.
