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Hope Grows in Lee County: Educators Say Judge?S Ruling Could Boost Progress of Youngest

Posted on: Sunday, 1 January 2006, 12:00 CST

By Gina Smith, The State, Columbia, S.C., The State, Columbia, S.C.

Jan. 1--It's apparent in the first few days of school in Tamala Stuckey's kindergarten class.

Like a sad game of duck-duck-goose, Stuckey, a teacher at Lower Lee Elementary School in Lee County, can point out which students attended 4-year-old kindergarten and which students didn't.

"From their social skills, from their language skills -- it's so evident," Stuckey said. "Some parents do a good job working with their children before they enter school. But unfortunately, many don't."

Educators in Lee County schools and eight other poor, rural districts are welcoming a circuit judge's ruling in their funding lawsuit against the state.

The judge on Thursday said the state Legislature must bolster public education through third grade in those eight districts

Right now, many of the state's youngest and neediest students don't get that help, educators in those rural areas say.

And once those students fall behind in first grade, it's difficult, sometimes impossible, to get them caught up, they add.

At Lower Lee Elementary, a recently renovated school surrounded by cotton fields, the 20 slots in the school's 4-year-old kindergarten are like gold. Each year, more than 40 parents clamor to get their children into the class.

"We have to pick and choose the neediest and send the others home for another year," said Harriet Brevard, principal of Lower Lee Elementary. "It's not a very good feeling."

While Brevard and her staff try to direct parents to Head Start, a federally funded preschool program, or to some of the county's private day care centers that offer quality early childhood programs, it often does no good.

"Being in a rural district, you don't find the private day care centers. And even with the ones we do have, many parents can't afford them," Brevard said.

Lee County's regional landfill and Lee Correctional Institution, the state's largest prison, are major local employers. Longtime textile companies like Reaves Brothers and Burlington have closed their doors.

Jobs and paychecks have grown increasingly tight.

Lee County Council is working to fill its two industrial parks with new businesses like warehousing and distribution centers. Still, 4,000 of the county's 20,500 residents go to work in another county, said County Councilman Travis Windham.

"We want them to stay here, to eat, to shop, to spend their money here," he said.

But many residents already cannot afford to take vacations, make trips to the museum, the zoo and the library and do other enrichment activities that prepare children for school, district and county leaders say.

"That means (Lee County) educators must have a higher degree of professionalism and expertise to compensate," said Lloyd Hunter, Lee County's district superintendent, noting he doesn't just need adequate teachers. He needs the best and the brightest.

But attracting star teachers -- and retaining them -- takes money.

Each year, about half of the teachers at Lower Lee Elementary quit to teach in other districts, Brevard said.

"Anywhere that pays more or offers better resources," she said. "Florence, Sumter, Kershaw. Each year, (the school) starts over, and that becomes somewhat frustrating."

Next school year, Hunter said, he will make teacher pay a top issue, bringing his teachers up to the same pay as surrounding school districts. He wants to do that by boosting annual supplements based on experience and credentials.

Also, the school board and County Council are backing a 1-cent sales tax increase. Proceeds -- anticipated at $600,000 to $700,000 annually -- would pay for roofs at two schools, a new career center at the high school and more.

More money and nicer facilities would make a difference for teachers like Stuckey.

The Lee County native relies on her memberships at three libraries to check out enough books and other education materials for her students.

Money from her own paycheck and donations from her father and sister have helped decorate her classroom and buy materials the school can't afford.

"Before, I didn't need the (library) cards," Stuckey said of the three years she taught in a Charlotte elementary school. "I'd just go to the resource room."

She said she returned to Lee County because the schools needed good teachers.

"My heart is in Lee County," she said.

Thursday's ruling implies help is on the way, Brevard said.

"It's an exciting time if the Legislature moves on it," she said.

Reach Smith at (803) 771-8462 or gnsmith@thestate.com [mailto:gnsmith@thestate.com].

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Copyright (c) 2006, The State, Columbia, S.C.

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Source: The State (Columbia, S.C.)

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