April 16th, 2021 – by DeVita Scott This is hard. Let’s be honest, we can’t begin an authentic conversation about gratitude without acknowledging the tough stuff. Few will dispute that this school year has been full of challenging experiences for everyone. This way of teaching, learning, and leading is uncharted. While venturing into uncharted territory […]
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April 8th, 2021 – by Trevor Scott Barton “There were deep wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and across her forehead. They didn’t seem to be wrinkles of worry that he’d seen on his mami and abuelo’s faces as they worked the fields and lived among strangers in small southern towns. No, they seemed […]
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March 26, 2021 – By Pernille Ripp I have been thinking about how hard we can be on ourselves. The constant negative self-talk we, as educators, can quickly sink into due to the supposed reactions of children we teach. How we can spiral so easily into defeatist thinking. Into thinking, we would be better off […]
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March 11th, 2021 – by Anne Kelly Tromsness “Can we decorate our squares?” a tiny blonde person wearing a tie-dyed gaiter asks me mischievously. “Yes. Today’s theme is – CELEBRATION.” She runs to the center of our black box theatre classroom. “GUYS! We’re decorating our SQUARES!” Eleven more students rush in to populate their own […]
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February 17th, 2021 – by Dr. Shaniece Criss I smile every time I ride past the eight-story mural in downtown Greenville. It shows educator Pearlie Harris who served as the first black teacher at an all-white elementary school, which helped integrate Greenville County Schools over 50 years ago. On the mural, she is embracing children […]
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February 5th, 2021 – by P. Sloan Joseph If you search the internet or any social media platform, you will find equity is a hot topic. It is included in almost every keynote message at every conference in every state. On Amazon.com, there are currently 783 books about educational equity available for purchase. With access […]
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I am feeling…uncertain, anxious, lonely, exhausted, overwhelmed. These are the responses I’ve received from all levels of educators over the past nine months. We are experiencing a collective erosion of our mental and physical health and a toll on personal relationships in a way we’ve never experienced. Poor mental health among educators was not born […]
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The return to school in 2020 brought a mixed bag of emotions for most educators I know. For me personally, I began to experience feelings and emotions that weren’t normally equated with the start of school in August. Typically, I would be full of excitement, eagerness, and anticipation about what the new year will hold. […]
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Public Education Partners is launching a new Elevating Teachers Blog. We are excited to welcome you to this space designed to share messages that uplift, encourage, and inspire educators. Consider it a virtual wellness room – a place where we can help cultivate resilience and empower each other in the midst of challenges and uncertainty. […]
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Pictured above: Projects and tools funded by PEP’s Micro Grant program. To help meet the needs of early career teachers during the 2020-2021 school year, Public Education Partners (PEP) offered micro grants to help offset teaching costs for classroom projects, supplies, and virtual learning tools. PEP initially pledged $5,000 to cover 25 micro grants […]
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Happy American Education Week! We would like to thank all of the incredible people who dedicate their lives to our public schools – teachers, administrators, bus drivers, substitutes, food staff, and so many other Greenville County Schools employees. Throughout this uniquely difficult time, they’ve demonstrated incredible resilience, and we are honored to support them. Throughout […]
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Teachers are leaders in their classrooms, their schools, and their communities. They are powerful advocates for our students and we aim to amplify their voices through leadership opportunities like our Teacher Fellows program. Teacher Fellows is a half-year policy and advocacy fellowship for Greenville County Schools educators. Participants will meet twice monthly to learn from […]
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