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FMU
Center of Excellence
Grant Proposal Narrative
2. Proposal Narrative
a. Background
The Pee Dee
region of South Carolina is an eight-county area located in the
northeastern section of the state between the Piedmont and Coastal
regions. These eight counties contain 18 school districts -- four
counties with one district, three with three districts, and one
with five districts. The total student enrollment of these districts
is slightly more 65,000 students. The districts range in size from
an enrollment of just under 900 to an enrollment of just under 14,000.
Despite the size differences, these districts share one thing in
common: significant pockets of poverty.
About five years ago, the South Carolina Education Oversight Committee
developed a poverty index that is a composite of the percent of
students in each district who are eligible for Medicaid services
and/or those who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. A poverty
index of 90.0, for example, means that 90% of the students are eligible
for Medicaid services, qualify for free or reduced-price meals,
or both. Thus, higher indices indicate greater poverty. For the
18 districts in the Pee Dee region, the median poverty index is
78.9%. Statewide, the median poverty index is 65.7%. Ten of the
18 districts rank in the highest quarter of districts statewide
in terms of the poverty index. For these counties, the range of
poverty indices is from 82.9% to 94.7%.
Numerous studies both in South Carolina and nation-wide have linked
poverty with student achievement. On the 2003 District Report Card,
eight of the 18 districts received absolute ratings of Below Average
(n = 7) or Unsatisfactory (n = 1). The other ten districts received
absolute ratings of Average or Good. There were no ratings of Excellent.
More troubling, however, were the districts’ improvement ratings.
Seven of the 18 districts received improvement ratings of Unsatisfactory,
with three more districts receiving improvement rations of Below
Average. Only two districts received improvement ratings of Good
and there were no improvement ratings of Excellent. These low improvement
ratings, coupled with a recent analysis of three-year longitudinal
achievement data conducted by the South Carolina Education Oversight
Committee, suggest that, not only do students in these districts
no learn at high levels, but they fall further behind their peers
the longer they are in school.
Cognizant of this situation and aware of the fact that one of the
factors – perhaps the single greatest factor—involved
in improving student learning is the quality of the classroom teacher,
the South
Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) issued a Request
for Proposals (RFP) to establish a Center of Excellence for the
improvement of teacher education. The RFP is unique in that it focuses
on the preparation and ongoing professional development of teachers
who work or intend to work in low-performing schools and districts
– schools and districts like those in the Pee Dee region.
This high concentration of poverty in a single geographic area provides
both a challenge and an opportunity. Located near the geographic
center of the Pee Dee region, Francis Marion University (FMU) is
ready to face that challenge and take advantage of that opportunity.
In addition to geographic location, there are four other reasons
that FMU is uniquely qualified to house a Center of Excellence for
the Preparation of Teachers to Teach Children of Poverty.
First, FMU is the only state university serving the Pee Dee region.
Second, over 90 percent of its almost 4,000 students come from South
Carolina, with the majority of those coming from the eight counties
that comprise the Pee Dee region. Third, many of the students who
enroll at FMU are the first in their families to attend college.
Fourth, because of its long-time relationship with the Pee
Dee Education Center, FMU is already part of a regional infrastructure
serving schools in neighboring counties. Finally, a Center for Excellence
for the Preparation of Teachers to Teach Children of Poverty is
consistent with the mission of FMU. Its mission statement states,
in part, that the University "seeks to serve as a catalyst
for regional development. Faculty, staff members, and advanced students
… render academic and practical assistance to regional schools
and other organizations [in an effort to build] a better educated,
more culturally enriched, and more prosperous region."
The problems inherent in successfully educating large numbers of
children of poverty are great -- much greater than any single person,
institution, or agency can solve. Thus, although the Center will
be physically housed on the campus of FMU, it will extend throughout
the region and the state by means of a series of partnerships and
collaborations.
Three of the 18 school districts -- Darlington, Dillon 2, and Marion
1 -- will serve as "partner
districts," with the other 15 districts designated as "participating
districts." Administrators and teachers of the partner
districts will work hand-in-glove with FMU faculty to determine
how best to prepare teachers, initially and continually, to teach
children of poverty. Administrators and teachers of the participating
districts will benefit from the activities offered by and materials
developed by the Center, but will not be directly involved in the
ongoing operation of the Center.
To accomplish its goals in a more effective and efficient manner,
the Center will establish a close working relationship with the
Pee Dee Education
Center (PDEC). Founded in 1967, PDEC has provided services for
member districts and, perhaps more importantly, gained respect as
an authoritative communications link with political and educational
entities throughout the state.
The Center also will work collaboratively with two existing Centers
of Excellence: the Center
for Excellence for the Education and Equity of African-American
Students, housed at Benedict College, and the Center
of Excellence in Accelerating Learning, housed at the College
of Charleston. Because so many of the children of poverty in the
Pee Dee region are African American, a collaborative relationship
with the Benedict College Center for Excellence will facilitate
the sharing of knowledge likely to benefit both Centers. Likewise,
because the solution to the problem of educating children of poverty
typically involves changing the way we think about children of poverty
and determining how best to change the culture of schools to make
them a more effective learning environment for these children, a
collaborative relationship with the College of Charleston Center
of Excellence will help both Centers more fully realize their potential.
A critical component of providing quality teachers for children
of poverty involves identifying and recruiting people who are uniquely
qualified and extremely interested in teaching these children. As
a result, the Center
of Excellence will collaborate with the Center
for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA)
which is housed at Winthrop University to help identify middle and
high school students in the Pee Dee region who show promise and
interest in the teaching profession.
Finally, in
order to access the increasingly large body of knowledge and wealth
of resources that have accumulated at the national level, the Center
will collaborate with the National
Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk
(CRESPAR) which is housed at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore,
Maryland. Scholars and researchers at this Center will serve as
consultants to the Center staff as they work toward achieving the
stated goals.
The proposal was prepared by a nine-person planning committee and
reviewed by a 20-member panel. The membership of the committee and
panel are included in the Collaborative Planning Efforts and K-12
Agreement section of this proposal (Section K of the Proposal Narrative).
The proposal was reviewed by a 15-person review panel. Like the
planning committee, the review panel included representatives of
the FMU faculty, district superintendents, school principals, and
teachers. Once again, a complete listing of the review panel members
is included in Section K. We believe this broad representation in
both the planning and review stages enhances the credibility of
the proposed activities and goals and their feasibility of being
implemented and achieved.
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