South Carolina’s education crisis is urgent. COVID has exposed fault lines that have been growing for decades. But this could be South Carolina’s greatest moment of education opportunity if we focus on results for students.

Ellen’s plan for educational excellence in South Carolina centers on three important principles:

Flexibility

Equip students to pursue their unique needs and personal goals, empower parents to exercise their God-given rights, allow educators to do their jobs effectively, and keep decision-making authority as close to the student as possible.

Responsibility

Deliver a high-quality education for every child. Maintain a strong focus on academic outcomes that are measured in a fair and transparent way, as well as total financial transparency so that taxpayers know how their money is really being spent.

Fairness

Equal access to opportunity for every student, no matter a family’s income level or zip code.

SC’S Education Excellence Agenda

For Students & Parents

“Every student deserves access to a high-quality education, in a learning environment that best supports their needs, free from political indoctrination.”

Ellen Weaver

For Educators

“Research shows that teachers are the #1 in-school factor for student success. Recruiting and retaining great public school teachers is essential.”

Ellen Weaver

Pay teachers as professionals and raise teacher salaries to the national average in 5 years.

Our current pay scale rewards time in service, titles, and degrees, not initiative and high-quality teaching that delivers for kids. We must reform our current pay scale to keep great teachers in the classroom and create more flexibility to find new ways to recognize teachers who are making a difference and attract new teachers to the profession.

Develop and support high quality school leaders.

Leadership in education matters. Great principals set the culture and tone for everything that happens in their school, whether coaching teachers for excellence or having their backs to deal with discipline issues. South Carolina must intentionally cultivate, coach, and empower school leaders to be the CEOs of their schools. And in turn, empower teachers to be CEOs of their classrooms.