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TO DECLARE MONDAY, MAY 7, THROUGH FRIDAY, MAY 11, 2018, AS CHARTER SCHOOL WEEK IN THE PALMETTO STATE AND TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING THE CHILDREN OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN INNOVATIVE CLASSROOMS AND SCHOOLS.
Whereas, in the 2017-2018 academic year, seventy charter schools are serving students across South Carolina, thereby helping create new jobs and opportunities for educators and other professionals in South Carolina. Charter schools, which are public schools, increase learning opportunities for all pupils and provide parents and students with expanded choices within the public school system; and
Whereas, forty-four states and the District of Columbia have charter schools. In South Carolina, our seventy charter schools serve more than thirty-two thousand students; and
Whereas, the Palmetto State passed the South Carolina Charter School Act in 1996, and the first established charter schools opened their doors in 1998; and
Whereas, many charter schools are designed specifically to serve children from traditionally underserved communities. These schools have made dramatic gains in accelerating the closing of the achievement gap for underserved populations, resulting in an increase in the graduation rate and improvement in college readiness; and
Whereas, charter schools offer a variety of innovative learning environments, including college preparedness, alternative education campuses, career technical education, arts, and sciences; and
Whereas, charter schools play an integral role in South Carolina's public education system, the communities in which they operate, the families they serve, and the pupils' lives they impact; and
Whereas, by providing high-quality education to students, charter schools contribute to the statewide effort to improve education in 2018, and they encourage community and parental involvement in the education of our youth. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, declare Monday, May 7, through Friday, May 11, 2018, as Charter School Week in the Palmetto State and acknowledge the importance of educating the children of South Carolina in innovative classrooms and schools.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Molly Spearman, State Superintendent of Education; the South Carolina Public Charter School District Board of Directors; Carol Aust, Executive Director of the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina; and Cameron Runyan, the Chief Executive Officer of the Charter Institute at Erskine College.
This web page was last updated on May 3, 2018 at 2:02 PM