In the United States, over 16 million children grow up in poverty. Nearly 300,000 of those children live right here in the state of South Carolina. Of those children living in poverty, only nine percent will have an opportunity to receive a degree from a college or university by the age of 25.
In South Carolina, there are nearly 350 teacher vacancies across South Carolina public schools, a 25 percent increase from 2014. Those vacancies in classrooms can significantly impact the education and development of elementary, middle and high school students, which is why Teach For America – South Carolina (TFA) is looking to change those statistics by mobilizing college graduates to lead classrooms in the state’s rural communities. The organization has partnered with the state and low-income school districts to give students a chance to learn from qualified leaders.
Charles McDonald, TFA’s Managing Director of Growth, Development and Partnerships, told The Daily Gamecock in an email that University of South Carolina students have a history of helping in classrooms across the country and across the state.
“The University of South Carolina has a long tradition of contributing graduates to our teaching corps,” McDonald said. “Since Teach For America was founded nearly 25 years ago, more than 100 USC students have joined our work. Today, 28 USC alums are current corps members through Teach For America, impacting the lives of students across the country- from Memphis to New Orleans and right here in South Carolina.”
McDonald said the RiseSC recruitment initiative was launched this year because of the need for education in South Carolina. The goal of the initiative is to build partnerships with colleges and universities- including USC, Clemson, Furman and SC State- to "increase the number of diverse, homegrown leaders who are teaching and leading high-needs South Carolina classrooms.”
One of those alumni is 2012 graduate and former TFA corps member Justin Dunham, who now serves as an eighth grade science teacher at Darlington Middle School in Darlington, South Carolina. Dunham, a Darlington native, became a member of the teaching corps because of his belief in Teach For America’s mission in affecting his community.
“I want to help spark the change needed to eradicate educational inequities in my community,” Dunham said. “I applied to Teach for America and was accepted into the program. I was even more excited to get an assignment in Darlington County. It was an opportunity to come home and give back.”
Current corps member and 2014 USC graduate Brandon Johnson said that his major at USC, athletic training, didn’t give him an opportunity to give back like the chance to join the teaching corps did.
“I kind of had a crazy experience at USC … I thought joining Teach For America would give me a better chance to make an impact than athletic training would,” Johnson said.
Johnson explained that he underwent his teaching training in inner-city Atlanta over the summer and is now a sixth grade math teacher at Palmetto Middle School in Mullins, South Carolina. Johnson said he was assigned to teach math based on performance in his courses at USC. While he thinks his teaching career is a better chance to give back, he is still able to put the knowledge he learned for his major at USC to use in his part-time job.
“I still have that opportunity to use my major, which is great,” Johnson said. “I’m a certified athletic trainer at McLeod Hospital and Creek Bridge High School…I’ll start graduate school soon at Coastal Carolina.”
On Saturday, Oct. 24, TFA and The Original Six Foundation hosted the South Carolina Leaders for Education Summit in Columbia where speakers, including Boeing National Strategy and Engagement Director Tommy Preston, spoke to state educators at the Columbia Marriott from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“I think it was a great opportunity for all those in attendance and [Boeing] donated $100,000 to the RiseSC initiative,” Johnson said. “…I think it’s important that they’re trying to bridge the education gap, focusing on those low-income areas.”