Fellows in Education members prepare to visit Florence One schools

Members of the 2018 Fellows in Education program include (from left) Gary Malaer, Tim Geddings, Mike Miller, Heather Greenberg, Tom Pietila, Charlie Blake, Ken Jackson, Terry Dingle, Elaine Sealey, Mark Buyck, III, Debbie Hyler, Carlos Washington, Ron Roberts, Don Kausler Jr., Annie Brown, Lauren Stanton, Jamie Carsten, Carolyn Pearce, Eric Bingaman, Kaye Parris, Tressa Gardner, Brenda Harrison, Charlene Lowery, Jarrod Tippins, Ken Baker and Irby Wilson.

FLORENCE, S.C. – Through a three-way partnership of Florence School District One, the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and The School Foundation, a program designed for business and community leaders to spend time getting a behind-the-scenes look into schools in Florence One continues in its third year.

The program, known as the Fellows in Education Program, began on Sept. 19 with an orientation for its members.

During the duration of the program, there are plans for business and community leaders to see firsthand some of the successes and daily challenges educators face in the classroom. Within this program, there also will be an opportunity for interested participants to take part in a “Principal for a Day” exercise in which the local leader will spend a portion of the day with a school principal as he or she conducts the duties of running the school.

Florence One Superintendent Randy Bridges expressed his views about the program.

“For the third year, we look forward to the continued partnership with The School Foundation and The Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce in this effort to build capacity within the community for our school,” he said. “This program is one of the best ways to allow community leaders to become knowledgeable about the interworking of our school system.”

Organizers of the program say the ultimate goal of Fellows in Education is to create a cadre of local leaders who will be able to collaborate with policymakers and community members in developing better education policies in the local community.

The first of eight sessions will begin on Oct. 3 with a visit to Lucy T. Davis Elementary, and sessions will be held thereafter on the first Tuesday of each month through the month of May at different Florence One schools.

For this third class of Fellows in Education, members of the three-way partnership have again sought after a select group of more than 20 community and business leaders who they believe are civic-minded supporters of the need for expansion of local educational resources.

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