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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Fellow advocates, To state the obvious, 2020 was a very difficult year for public education. I once heard the former long-time Executive Director of Spartanburg Academic Movement, John Stockwell, describe public schools as “the centers of gravity in our communities.” If I had doubted John’s words then – and I didn’t – the Covid-19 pandemic […]
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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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Introducing Cohort 5 of the Greenville Alternative Teacher Education (GATE) program! This cohort of 23 first-year teachers – the program’s largest cohort yet – is teaching math, science, English, social studies, and world languages across middle and secondary schools in Greenville County. We recognize their commitment to public education in a year of so much […]
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I recently learned that gratitude literally rewires your brain to heal the effects of anxiety and stress. I think we can all agree that our brains need some healing in 2020. As PEP continues to celebrate 35 years of working collaboratively to improve student achievement and public education in Greenville County, I want to take […]
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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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Are you ready to vote in your school board race? We partnered with the League of Women Voters of Greenville County to host three candidate forums for School Board Districts 21, 25, & 27! You can watch the recordings here: District 21 District 25 District 27 If you’re looking for […]
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Join us virtually on Monday, November 16th from 4-5PM as we honor the Jolley Foundation! The Jolley Foundation has supported Public Education Partners’ mission for nearly 30 years, and its recent investment in our policy and advocacy work has been a game changer that will reap benefits for Greenville’s public schools and students for […]
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After hosting Elena Aguilar this week, PEP’s Program Director, Qena Jennings, put together this Elena-inspired list of resources for building resilience – and yes, Brené Brown made the cut! Resilience Tools from Elena Aguilar Onward Tools – Onward website with free downloadable tools to boost resilience We also cannot recommend her book ‘Onward’ […]
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Today the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously declared that Governor McMaster’s SAFE Grants program is unconstitutional, holding that “the Governor’s allocation of $32 million in GEER funds to support the SAFE Grants Program constitutes the use of public funds for the direct benefit of private educational institutions within the meaning of, and prohibited by, Article […]
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