​Jeffrey Maxey, a special education resource teacher at Starr Elementary School in Anderson School District Three has been named the 2019 State Teacher of the Year.  The State Superintendent of Education, Molly Spearman, made the announcement at the annual Teacher of the Year gala held on May 2, 2018.
 
Maxey serves in several roles in addition to his teaching responsibilities: Department Head, Mentor, Master Teacher, District Teacher Trainer, and District Evaluator.  He spent eight years teaching educators in North Africa before coming to South Carolina.
 
For the next year, Maxey will complete a one-year residency at CERRA as he serves as an education ambassador.  In that role, he will work with Teacher Cadets and Teaching Fellows, lead the State Teacher Forum, attend various speaking engagements, and serve as a representative of the state’s over 50,000 educators.

​Lexington School District Two’s Teacher of the Year, Daniel Bailey, received this prestigious award at the gala.  Bailey, a teacher at Airport High School, has said that he wants his students to discover the value in helping others.  He plans to donate the check that accompanies the award to Airport’s Camp Kemo annual fundraiser.  

​The District Teachers of the Year were celebrated in a black tie optional gala hosted by South Carolina Future Minds.  Guests gathered for a reception while they awaited the grand entrance of the District Teachers of the Year.  Each honored teacher entered to a trumpet serenade.  During the event, guests posed for photos with the BMW and networked with colleagues, lawmakers, family, and friends.  During the dinner, a co-author of Just A Chicken, Preston Thorne, entertained the crowd with stories of his experience in education.  Daniel Bailey of Lexington District Two was named the recipient of the Charles Dickerson award which recognizes community service efforts, and Jeffrey Maxey was named the 2019 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.

​The next day began with a breakfast at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, which was hosted and catered by Bojangles.  Jeffrey Maxey and Whitney Glenn, who could not attend as she was expecting the birth of her second child, were surprised with 5 night Caribbean cruises.  Daniel Bailey was again honored for his award. The teachers then visited the State House.  They were recognized by the House of Representatives and the Senate. After taking a group photo on the steps of the State House, the teachers made their way back to the cathedral to attend a working lunch.  The lunch began with a presentation of rings by Thomas and Dusty Rhodes of Jostens to acknowledge the finalists’ accomplishments. The 2018 Honor Roll teachers then facilitated a discussion in which the District Teachers of the Year identified key education issues that need to be addressed at the state or local levels.

​CERRA’s book study came to a close with a video-conference to discuss the group’s key take-aways of the book.  See a summary of the main talking points below.

BY TODD SCHOLL

On Wednesday, May 2, 2018, State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman announced that the 2019 South Carolina Teacher of the Year is Jeff Maxey, a Special Education resource teacher at Starr Elementary School in Anderson School District Three.

"Jeff exhibits the qualities and characteristics that we want to see in every current and future South Carolina educator. He is so deserving of this tremendous honor and I know he will do a fantastic job advocating and representing our over 50,000 teachers this next year," said State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman.

In addition to teaching Special Education, Maxey serves as the Special Education Department Head, District Teacher Trainer, District Evaluator, Master Teacher, and Mentor. Maxey originally pursued a career as a minister. While serving in that role, he pastored a funeral for a young student. Afterwards, he received an invitation to visit the classrooms of the student’s senior class to help them understand their loss. It was during this experience that he became inspired to become a teacher. Jeffrey’s grandparents instilled a love of games and puzzles that required logic, such as Backgammon and Chess. “I am reminded of those puzzles and the logic of those games as I desire to impact the lives of students with special needs. Like creative puzzles or multifaceted games, each student has many intricate designs within. My goal is to help them discover what is inside, then let it out.” This desire put him on a path to teach inner-city middle school students, then to North Africa for eight years to teach educators as the National Director of Education and Training for a non-government organization, and finally to South Carolina.

As part of the state Teacher of the Year awards program, Maxey receives $25,000 and a brand new BMW for one year. 

Considered one of the country's strongest, the South Carolina Teacher of the Year program celebrates excellence and strengthens the teaching force by honoring and recognizing exceptional teachers on a district, state, and national level. These awards not only assist in retention efforts but serve as a powerful recruitment tool.

The South Carolina Teacher of the Year completes a one-year residency at CERRA while serving the state as an education ambassador. In this role he will provide mentoring, attend speaking engagements, work with Teacher Cadets and Teaching Fellows, lead the State Teacher Forum, and serve as the state spokesperson for over 50,000 educators. 

​Learn more about The Teacher of the Year program.

BY SUZANNE KOTY

We are pleased to bring you the third edition of the South Carolina Teacher Leadership newsletter.  Our goal is to provide a collaborative resource that highlights state and district level teacher leadership activities, outlines issues related to South Carolina education, and sparks ideas among Teacher Forums.

The District Teachers of the Year met in Columbia for a one day workshop to collaborate around leadership, goal setting, and developing a voice.  The teachers participated in a number of activities in which they reflected on choices they have made, situations they have found themselves in, and opportunities they have before them.  South Carolina Future Minds and Kathy Maness shared information with them about the upcoming Teacher of the Year banquet and legislative day.  At the end of the day, they were surprised by Bojangles with at least 40 books each to use in their classroom library or school’s media center.

Throughout the week of March 5th-9th, State Superintendent Molly Spearman traveled the state surprising five teachers who have been selected as the 2019 South Carolina Honor Roll Teachers.  These five teachers are finalists for State Teacher of the Year.  The State Department will now conduct interviews and videotape classroom lessons as part of the process for the selection of the next South Carolina Teacher of the Year.  Each of these educators will be celebrated at the South Carolina Teacher of the Year banquet in May when one of them will assume the title of South Carolina Teacher of the Year.  The Honor Roll Teachers will work with the 2019 South Carolina Teacher of the Year to advocate and promote teacher leadership throughout the year. 

Reminder:  In 2018-19, South Carolina will begin using a new evaluation tool for all classroom-based teachers.  The South Carolina Teaching Standards 4.0 rubric will become part of the Expanded ADEPT Support and Evaluation System.   District teams have already begun training on the new instrument, and teachers will be learning about it during the 2017-18 academic year. 
 
Those interested in pursuing National Board Certification can register as early as April 1, 2018.  Revisions to the process have made it possible for candidates to complete the process over the course of several years instead of having to do it all in one year.  South Carolina is proud to have 8,928 NBCTs.  Be sure to follow updates in the coming weeks regarding the Proviso that governs the salary supplement for NBCTs. 
 

BY TODD SCHOLL

The top five finalists for 2019 South Carolina Teacher of the Year were named last week. They are:

• Robert Harris - Hand Middle School - Richland 1
• Zachariah Lowe - Mayewood Middle School - Sumter
• Jeffrey Maxey - Starr Elementary School - Anderson 3
• Nick Snyder - Cane Bay High School - Berkeley
• Susan Snyder - Northwestern High School - York 3 (Rock Hill)

The 2019 SC Teacher of the Year will be named at the SC Teacher of the Year Celebration on May 2 in Columbia. The SC Teacher of the Year serves a one-year residency at CERRA. Read more about the SC Teacher of the Year Program.

*Attention, District Forum Chairs*
Do you have an active Forum?  If so, make sure CERRA has your Forum featured on its website.  Send Todd the link for your website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.

Calendar of Events:

Of course, there’s also our Book Club’s selection.

The WAY of the SEAL: Think Like an Elite Warrior to Lead and Succeed
​By Mark Divine

Here are some of our favorite quotes:

“Society’s drummer boy beat his drum, and I, like many of you, marched along oblivious to the much subtler drumbeat inside of me.”

“You will never seek leadership roles as an end in and of themselves.  Ultimately, we need to develop what the Japanese call kokoro, which means to merge our heart and mind in action.”

“There is no such thing as perfection, only perfect effort.”

​The 2017-18 District Teachers of the Year convened for the South Carolina Teacher Forum in Myrtle Beach earlier this month.  The theme for this year was Keep Running.  After an inspirational performance by Carolina Forest’s Show Choir, Sydney Chaffee, the 2017 National Teacher of the Year, delivered the opening keynote and urged teacher leaders to take risks and allow themselves to grow by embracing those things that push them outside of their comfort zones.  Thursday was a busy day filled with a keynote by CERRA’s own Dr. Jenna Hallman, an overview of how to fill out the application for State Teacher of the Year, breakout sessions, roundtable discussions, and an unconference.  The final day included a keynote by Erin Fox, 2018 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.  Erin shared her own story of how she found balance both professionally and personally and urged the District Teachers of the Year to keep running through all of the challenges they face. Superintendent Molly Spearman thanked the teachers for what they do, and the 2018 SC Honor Roll teachers shared some insight into how leadership connects to recruitment and retention.  Each District Teacher of the Year was pinned as a member of the South Carolina Teacher Forum.  

​Sumter's Teacher Forum used the Six Word Activity to create individual statements about leadership. The forum’s leadership committee then used each statement to identify what was important to members as a new vision statement was crafted for the year’s work ahead.

The New Teacher Center, in partnership with Dr. Richard Ingersoll, published the results of the Learning and Leading Survey which shows a connection between school leadership and teacher leadership with student achievement.
 
There is great news for South Carolina educators!  490 NBCTs successfully renewed their National Board certification.  Renewal candidates were notified last month of their latest achievement.

National Board

CERRA
Awareness Webinars: 12/15/17, 1/10/18, 3/21/18, and 4/11/18
Renewal Webinars: 12/8/17, 1/17/18, 3/22/18, and 4/12/18
Professional Learning Facilitator Trainings: 11/21/18, 1/4/18, 2/6/18, 3/8/18, and 4/9/18
 
SCEA (Register at their website.)
Support Session – Components 1 and 2: 2/10/18
Support Session – Components 3 and 4: 3/10/18
Jump Start Sessions: July 16-19, 2018
 
PSTA (Register at their website.)
Renewal Support Session: 1/30/18 @ 4:30
 
SC Mentor Training
Mentor Trainer Certification: December 5-6, 2017, February 27-28, 2018, and June 13-14, 2018
Mentor Training: January 30-31, 2018

The SC Department of Education has been given the tremendous opportunity to design and implement a Collective Leadership Initiative that we will begin piloting in fall 2017. As we develop this model, we are also exploring the need for a more personalized learning approach to professional development around specific areas of leadership through the development and completion of micro-credentials for SC educators.
 
Given the importance of this work and your role as a stakeholder in the education of SC’s children and support of their educators, we invite you to an important meeting for a day of learning and sharing with key leaders from a number of school districts and organizations.
 
The meeting will be held at the Columbia Conference Center, 169 Laurelhurst Avenue on June 16th from 9:00am to 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided and renewal credit will be offered.
 
The meeting will provide you the opportunity to learn more about the Collective Leadership pilot as well as the national landscape of professional development and the movement to a personalized approach for educators via micro-credentials.
 
We ask that you register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/statewide-leadership-micro-credential-awareness-convening-general-tickets-35011796225 by June 9th. NOTE: SEATING IS LIMITED SO PLEASE REGISTER ASAP TO ENSURE YOUR SPACE. We will follow up with additional details prior to the meeting.
 
We are excited to convene this important meeting and look forward to seeing you there!

This post created on behalf of Libby Ortmann, South Carolina Department of Education, Office of School Leadership.

​Erin Fox from Cherokee School District One was named the 2018 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.  Erin is an English teacher at Gaffney High School who uses her background in drama, dance, and music in order to create dynamic lessons for her students. She also coaches cross country.  Erin shared that she hopes to be an advocate for teachers and students

1. as we work to fight childhood and adolescent obesity and student apathy.  She wrote, "Both are problems for South Carolina students, and I believe that by infusing our classrooms and schools with more kinesthetic/tactile lessons and activities and by re-energizing our teachers and administrators with movement and action, we can engage our students on the highest level."  She believes that activating the body activates the brain and that when students are truly engaged in the classroom, attendance will increase and student apathy will decrease.  Elevated student attendance and engagement will lead students to perform with greater academic, athletic, and artistic prowess!  Erin will spend the next year representing South Carolina teachers and will serve a one-year teacher-in-residence with CERRA.

Caroline Weathers from Dorchester School District Four was awarded the Charles H. Dickerson for Community Service Award. Caroline teachers 7th grade science.  She was recognized for making significant contributions to her community.  She will receive a monetary award of $500 and a second monetary award of $500 to donate to a charity of her choice. She was honored both at the Teacher of the Year banquet and the Bojangles breakfast the following day.   

Caroline has chosen to send her donation to the Fresh Future Farms in North Charleston, a nonprofit inner-city farm learning center focused on increasing nutritional equity and providing economic opportunities for the community.  This grassroots organization is led by Germaine Jenkins whose goal it is to develop better food systems for residents of South Carolina. 

2017 South Carolina Teacher of the Year Event
All of the 2017 District Teachers of the Year gathered in Columbia on May 3rd to celebrate teachers in South Carolina.  The teachers entered a reception to the sound of a trumpet announcing their arrival.  There they were able to network with family, friends, educators, and policy makers.  Each District Teacher of the Year was recognized on stage by Judi Gatson.  The guests enjoyed a dinner with a keynote from a graduate of South Carolina Schools, Dr. Robert "Bobby" Satcher, Jr., who was the first orthopedic surgeon in space and participated in two spacewalks. Megan Nicholson, a singer/songwriter from Central High School performed an original song entitled "No More!  No More!" for the audience.  After 2017 South Carolina Teacher of the Year Jennifer Wise gave her parting words, State Superintendent Molly Spearman announced Erin Fox as the next State Teacher of the Year.  Superintendent Spearman treated the teachers and their guests to milk and cookies after the banquet.  The next day, Bojangles provided breakfast for the District Teachers of the Year before they embarked on a journey to the South Carolina State House to be take part in a press conference with Governor McMaster to declare May Teacher Appreciation Month.  The teachers were also recognized in both the House and the Senate chambers.  

Jennifer Wise was selected as a 2017-2018 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow.  Twelve STEM educators were selected to serve the 11-month fellowship in Washington, DC, within the offices of three sponsoring agencies and five Congressional Offices.  We congratulate Jennifer on this accomplishment and wish her well on this next step in her journey.

We recently asked South Carolina's 2018 Teacher of the Year Erin Fox about teachers who had influenced her.  Her parents were both teachers, and they taught her that education is paramount to an individual's success.  They pushed her to never settle for mediocrity.  Her 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Sharon Elliott, helped her realize that her voice deserved to be heard.  Mrs. BettySue Cowan introduced her to the world of musical theatre.  Ms. Joanne Davis was her voice of reason; she showed her that anything was possible. Erin understands that teachers have the opportunity to show students the potential they possess.  She believes that teachers should bring energy and joy to the classroom because positivity and happiness are contagious.  

Jodie Peele Branham, the 2017 Latta School District Teacher of the Year received the Kevin Grover Distinguished Teacher Leader Award which provided her a $5,000 scholarship towards a Master of Arts in Teacher Leadership degree from Mount Holyoke College.  She just found out that she was accepted into the program and looks forward to learning more about developing as a teacher leader.  The scholarship was founded in memory of the 2010 Maine Teacher of the Year to honor his dedication to his students, profession, and public education.  He believed that teaching is the "best job in the world."  Congratulations to Jodie who will work towards building an improved education system for every child.

National Education News
The American Institutes for Research in collaboration with several other organizations recently published the 2017 Good to Great Report.  CERRA's own Jenna Hallman participated in one of the working groups.  The findings from the teacher-driven research study support the work that CERRA is doing in mentoring, National Board Certification, and teacher leadership.

South Carolina Education News
South Carolina is launching a high school aerospace curriculum in the fall of the 2017-18 school year.  Six high schools across the state will offer the aerospace engineering classes.  

Three high school students were named as U.S. Presidential Scholars.  Congratulations are extended to Jessica Marlow (Dorman High School), Jonathan Michala (Eastside High School), and Karen Zhao (Riverside High School).

The legislators have ratified a bill to provide a state recognized graduation credential for students with disabilities.  Beginning in the coming year, ninth graders will be the first group eligible to earn a state recognized employment credential.  This project was spearheaded by participants in the South Carolina Education Policy Fellows program, Traci Hogan and Chuck Saylors.

CERRA has piloted two National Board cohorts this year, one in Greenville and one in Dorchester 2.  The cohorts focused on Components One and Three of the National Board Certification process, but several members completed all four components this year.  Next year these districts will provide cohort support for Components Two and Four.  Any districts interested in learning more will soon have access on our website.  

Learn more about overcoming adversity and strengthening your resilience in Patterson and Kelleher's book.  They describe six strengths that allow leaders to positively impact the culture of an organization:

1.         Accurate assessment of both the organization's past and current reality
2.         Positive attitude about the future
3.         Commitment to personal values
4.         Personal efficacy
5.         Energy
6.         Courage to act

BY SUZANNE KOTY

Teach to Lead will host its 12th Teacher Leadership Summit.
May 5-7, 2017
Columbus, OH

Teach to Lead supports teachers as experts in instruction and in their students' needs.  The Teach to Lead Summit provides teachers and their supporters with time to collaborate and to incubate innovative ideas that can lead to a positive impact on schools, communities, districts, and states.

Don't wait.  The deadline to apply is April 3, 2017.  If your idea is accepted, you will be notified by April 8, 2017.

If you have additional questions, you may contact the Teach to Lead educator engagement team.
Amanda Barney          Emily Davis          Tami Fitzgerald