Richland 1 Teachers, Staff Kick Off New School Year

Focus on meeting the individual academic needs of every student, every day.  That was the challenge Richland One Superintendent Dr. Percy Mack made to teachers, support staff, parents and community leaders attending the district’s annual Back-to-School Convocation on August 12.

The convocation, which was held in the Dreher High School auditorium, serves as the official kick-off of the new school year for Richland One employees. Teachers returned to work at their respective schools today.

Dr. Mack laid out the district’s plan for the new school year including adding foreign language education for first- and second-graders; increasing the number of early childhood education classes; having a full-time school resource officer in every school; continuing intensive efforts to improve the district’s graduation rate; and implementing a new virtual pre-engineering program at W.J. Keenan High School in partnership with the S.C. Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.

“To move our district forward, we will step up our efforts in early childhood education to get our students off to a great start, not just the status quo,” said Dr. Mack. “In addition to focusing on students’ literacy and math skills, we are looking at extending Montessori education to the middle grades, expanding student internships and using technology to provide a global learning experience for our students.”

The outstanding musical entertainment at the convocation included the National Anthem by Dreher rising junior Cameron Wesley; performances by the Logan Elementary School Honor Choir; a soulful saxophone rendition of “How Great Thou Art” by Dr. Johnny Murdaugh, Richland One’s career and technology education director; and a stirring vocal solo by John Harmon Cooper, a rising sophomore at A.C. Flora High School and winner of Richland One’s Best Singer in the District competition.

The convocation will be broadcast on Richland One TV on Time Warner Cable channel 12. Check the ROTV schedule at www.richlandone.org for broadcast times.