The South Carolina Department of Education has been awarded $3.9 million in federal monies to help improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities.   

 In the past five weeks, South Carolina has won six competitive grants worth nearly $79 million. The five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education allows the Palmetto State agency to expand training for teachers who work with students with special needs.  “ South Carolina Gateways:  From Cradle to Careers” has three tiers of professional development. 

 “We must ensure that all students get the best education possible – regardless of ability,” said State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex.  “This project will help address the discrepancies in the achievement rate between students with disabilities and students without disabilities.  In the end, teachers will have the tools they need to improve classroom teaching and learning in our special education classes.”

 Operating out of the Department’s Office of Exceptional Children, “South Carolina Gateways: From Cradle to Careers” will incorporate the use of teacher-coaches, state-level assistance and model schools.  The common thread of Tiers 1, 2 and 3 is improving the outcomes of students with disabilities. 

 Tier 1 schools will receive intensive on site professional development and coaching by master special education teacher-coaches.  These schools have significant differences between the achievement of students with disabilities and students without disabilities and will receive help reviewing and analyzing their data, in developing a personnel development plan and in facilitating parent and child care training.

 Teachers in Tier 1 schools will take graduate courses via distance learning that focus on early literacy, social-emotional development in early childhood, secondary transition assessment and practices, teaching reading to adolescents, behavior and classroom management, mathematics instruction and collaboration/coaching. Pro-Parents, a private, non-profit organization which provides information and training about education to families of children with disabilities, will facilitate parent training, and First Steps will train child care providers that feed into the districts’ elementary schools.

 Tier 1 schools will also have access to content experts from the state S²MART Centers.  The S²MART centers are regional resources that offer support services to help teachers improve instruction, implement state standards, accelerate student achievement, utilize coaching strategies and support the implementation of instructional plans.

A second tier of schools will receive state-level assistance guided by a secondary transition coach and a preschool coach. Tier 2 schools will be schools that met one Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goal – either math or English/Language Arts – but still have a significant gap in meeting the other area. Five of the Tier 2 schools will receive competitive subgrants that will allow them to attend statewide training in math or English/Language Arts. Selected schools will also benefit from access to distance education courses and S²MART center resources.  

 The third tier of schools will be model or mentor schools because they have demonstrated improved outcomes for students with disabilities. These schools have met at least one AYP goal – either math or English/Language arts – and have a minimal gap in meeting the other area.  

 Tier 3 schools must apply to be model/mentor schools and will receive subgrants to cover expenses for providing mentoring to Tier 1 schools. These model sites will be open to visits from other schools looking to replicate their success. The model and mentor schools will be recognized on the Department of Education’s web site.