Reading on the Rise NGU’s Educational Center Amps Literacy Scores in SC Schools
Trough its new Center for Educational Leadership and Research, North Greenville University is im- proving literacy in a Greenwood, SC, school district.
Launched in 2018, the Center for Educational Leadership and Research jump-started with a project aimed at improving reading levels in Greenwood County School District 52 (Greenwood 52), after being selected by the district as a consultant for all four of its schools.
Te center began the project by conducting a com- prehensive needs assessment throughout the district, discovering that 86 percent of its kindergarten students were reading significantly below grade level.
NGU’s Center for Educational Leadership and Re- search staff — Dr. Harold Long, center director, and Dr. Craig Drennon, senior scholar — then worked with Greenwood 52 to redesign its literacy instruc- tion, implement data-driven practices, and provide leadership development for district administration.
After introducing these changes, the district conducted another reading assessment in February 2019, which indicated that the percentage of kinder- garten students who were reading significantly below grade level had dropped to only 18 percent.
Student test data showed improvements in other grades, as well. When the South Carolina De- partment of Education released its annual South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY) results, for example, the percentage of students at Ninety Six Elementary School in Green- wood 52 who met or exceeded expectations in the English language arts category peaked higher than the past four years.
“Te results have been incredible, and we are looking forward to more great things to come,” says Greenwood 52 Superintendent Dr. Rex Ward, in
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regards to the Center for Educational Leadership and Research partnership.
And “more great things” are already on the way. In April 2019, the Self Family Foundation in Green- wood officially announced that it would award $60,000 to provide literacy resources for both the primary and elementary schools in Greenwood 52, after NGU’s Center for Educational Leadership and Research had applied for a grant from the founda- tion on the district’s behalf.
Te Self Family Foundation funds will go toward classroom library texts, as well as further literacy initiatives in Greenwood 52.
“Local media coverage of our Greenwood 52 project has led to a series of meetings and conversations with potential partners in the Spartanburg community,” says Long. “If these partnerships come to fruition, NGU’s Center for Educational Leadership and Research will be positioned among some of the most influential professionals in the region.”
Future plans for the District 52 project include not only advancing new partnerships, but also providing in-depth professional development for the district and securing additional grant funds.
“At North Greenville University, we are committed to coming alongside public educators throughout our region to help facilitate educational flourish- ing,” says NGU Provost and Dean of the University Faculty Dr. Nathan Finn. “I am grateful for the work Dr. Long and his colleagues at the Center for Edu- cational Leadership and Research are doing to serve schools and, ultimately, help students succeed.”
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