October 30, 2012
"Greenville native Josh Bell, 27, is the executive director of Teach for America SC, working to change classrooms, expectations, and lives."
Get to Know A. J. Whittenberg Elementary
A. J. Whittenberg Elementary (AJW), which opened its doors in August 2010, is the first elementary school in South Carolina with a school-wide engineering curricular program. The school is located in an underserved, low-income community in Greenville and is named for A. J. Whittenberg, a pioneer for civil rights who is best known for his stand on the integration of Greenville County Schools. AJW is a “choice school,” which means it serves students from the surrounding neighborhoods as well as students from across the county on a first-come, first-served basis.
The school emphasizes hands-on creative problem solving, healthy living, and applying skills using technology. The 88,232 square foot facility features a three-story atrium, with the engineering labs visible from both the interior and exterior of the building. A. J. Whittenberg Elementary collaborates with Greenville's vibrant engineering community and the newly-built Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center, which sits adjacent to the school. The Kroc Center and AJW work together to provide learning opportunities for students, parents, and the community through dual-use of the facilities. The school is supported by a wide array of community partners, including Kiwanis, First Steps, G.E., and Michelin.
Director Ansel Sanders (Baltimore Corps ’04), one of the founding leaders of AJW, works with community partners and invests in staff to realize the school’s vision of preparing a diverse group of students to compete in a global market.
Region Timeline
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On December 20th, South Carolina proclaims itself "an independent commonwealth." It is the first state to secede from the Union in the outbreak of the Civil War.
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In Clarendon County, South Carolina, a coalition of African-American families sues for bus transportation to segregated schools in Briggs v. Elliott. The case is the first of five cases combined into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark Supreme Court case that paved the way for school integration.
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Charleston's Rivers High School becomes the first racially integrated high school in South Carolina.
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When police overreact to the violence of students protesting a segregated bowling alley, they kill three students and wound more than 30 others. The event becomes known as the Orangeburg Massacre, and shatters the general peace of the state’s desegregation.
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In Lamar, South Carolina, school buses carrying black children are overturned by a mob of 100-200 people. The children were being bused as a part of a program integrating the Lamar public schools.
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Governor Jim Hodges creates the South Carolina Education Lottery. In its first year, the lottery awards $40 million to recipients of LIFE Scholarships. Recipients must be South Carolina students with at least a B average who graduate in the top 30% of their high school class and score at least 1,100 on the SATs.
Overheard
Every individual I have met through Teach For America is driving for the same mission and purpose, which is to increase student achievement.
Charlotte Corps 2008
Press
August 22, 2012
It's a new school year for Charleston county students, and with it comes a significant change. For the first time, the district has thirty Teach for America teachers at it's most at risk schools in the innovation zone.
July 23, 2012
Thirty Teach for America corps members will work at 11 high-poverty, low- achieving schools downtown and in North Charleston. Local leaders hope these eager teachers will be another strategy to help turn around struggling schools.
