The Whole Child Education Consortium Launches in
Fairfield and Marlboro Counties

ALL4SC is partnering with schools in Marlboro and Fairfield counties to develop a comprehensive strategy for a whole child education model in South Carolina that is unique to two schools in each district. The Whole Child Education Consortium will deepen and spread effective community schooling in our state working with regional and national partners to develop the policies to dramatically improve the academic and life success of South Carolina's young people. These collaborative partners across the state focus on issues from mental health and mentoring to social emotional learning to at-risk screenings and more.

Drawing on assets across the University of South Carolina and anchored by ALL4SC, the Consortium is designed to deliver integrated services to children and families, serve as a catalyst for creating and sustaining transformative full-service community school models in South Carolina, and further develop a prototype for a cradle to career strategy for the state.

The work of the Whole Child Education Consortium, and its approach to full-service community schools, is grounded in a place-based school improvement strategy. It is guided by the research on how well-implemented models can close opportunity and achievement gaps for students in high poverty schools as well as incorporate them as part of a state’s Every School ESSA plans.

ALL4SC Founding Director Receives National Recognition

 

Barnett Berry, ALL4SC’s founding director, accepted the James A. Kelly Award for Advancing Accomplished Teaching from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards on April 9, 2021. Berry has decades of leadership in teacher education. 

Berry joins Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and former S.C. Governor Richard W. Riley who have received this award honoring individuals who have contributed to the advancement of accomplished teaching.

Berry was featured on the UofSC website with an in-depth article focusing on his achievements and aspirations for ALL4SC. The Columbia Regional Business Report and a number of other local and regional publications featured stories about the award. 

#SELday 2021 a Success

While focusing on social emotional learning is something that parents, teachers and students should be doing daily, March 26 was designated by SEL4US as #SEL Day to help policymakers, community leaders, news media and others become more aware of SEL in education. 

SEL4SC took the lead in the Palmetto State to publish social media quotes from 30 state leaders in the SEL community about the importance of SEL in education. These leaders ranged from the UofSC president to the Fairfield County School Superintendent and the state teacher of the year to leaders in behavioral health. 

ALL4SC’s Barnet Berry was among these leaders featured. He said, “We are working with teachers across the nation (and South Carolina), and they report far more concerns with their students’ SEL losses – much more than their academic learning loss. It is now time to build whole child systems of schooling.” 

New SEL Newsletter Launched

Social emotional learning is an important part of ALL4SC’s mission to enhance education for teachers, families and students both at home and in the classroom. ALL4SC has created a monthly SEL newsletter to offer educators and partners SEL support in an easy and accessible way. Read the first issue here.

These monthly newsletters will highlight new resources and everyday practices from National University to continue the conversation of SEL within the classroom and at home. To subscribe to the monthly SEL newsletter, click here.

ALL4SC Director Testifies Before Legislative Committee

The Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children heard testimony from ALL4SC’s founding director, Barnett Berry, on March 30. He presented ALL4SC’s progress on writing a policy brief on the current state of whole child education in South Carolina and outlined plans for a whole child education approach for all state students. 

Berry explained to the committee members the whole child concept that includes more children are ready for school, more students healthy, more high school graduates ready for postsecondary and life success, and greater economic mobility for all.

The next steps in the process of completing this policy brief include aligning ALL4SC’s efforts to support work of the Joint Citizens and Legislative Committee on Children, designing incentives for cross-sector collaboration, and developing a whole child education and Zero-to-Workforce strategy for education from cradle to career.

Berry’s presentation to the committee is found here.