Thread: Know Anything About the Palmetto Priority Project / SC?

I'm looking for information about the Palmetto Priority Project in South Carolina. I understand that the state department of education has taken over 16 schools. They've begun a recruitment drive for out of state teachers. In addition to having failed their AYPs, the schools in question have averaged an annual 40% faculty turnover.

What I'm specifically wondering is how the dept. of ed. plans to turn these schools around. Hiring experienced teachers is all well and good but having been a teacher in low income rural and inner-city schools, I know that replacing the faculty won't make the underlying problems go away.

The students will still be disadvantaged. There will still be problems with poverty, hunger, crime, abuse, alcoholism, drugs, neglect, and despair. Most students will start the year with hard street-wise "don't care" attitudes. Most of them will be below grade level.

I've been approached by a recruiter for the Palmetto Priority Project with an offer to interview in Pittsburgh on 7/31.

Other than a few media dog and pony shows about how the department of education plans to revitalize these schools through the employment of veteran teachers, I've been unable to find any specific information on the Palmetto Priority Project.

Will there be remedial programs? Will teachers at these schools have extra funding for supplemental resources? Will the class sizes be smaller? Will there be instructional aides? Will there be more support from instructional technology? Has the curriculum been revamped? Has the school day been extended? Will there be after school tutorial sessions? (I've heard of some very successful programs that offer free dinner along with after school tutoring.)

How does the state department of education plan to save these schools? Does anyone know? Or is this Palmetto Priority Project just a throw away plan to distract the Feds for another year? Come next year, if AYP is still not met, will the department of education blame the out of state teachers for the failure of the program?

I wouldn't mind being part of the solution ... but I'll be darned if I'll be part of the problem ... and come the end of the school year, I don't want to be a convenient scape goat.

Regards,

David