COLUMBIA, SC – On Wednesday, more than 60 leaders and staff members from the Charter Institute at Erskine (Institute) participated in professional development by visiting charter schools across the state to learn new strategies for instruction and operations.
In place of a semi-annual School Leaders Meeting, school leaders were given the opportunity to travel to one of four Institute schools – Gray Collegiate Academy (West Columbia), Langston Charter Middle School (Greenville), South Carolina Virtual Charter School (Statewide Virtual), and Royal Live Oaks Academy of the Arts and Sciences (Hardeeville).
“We often hear from school leaders regarding their desire to visit other schools to observe high-quality education in action,” said Institute Superintendent Cameron Runyan. “To meet this need, the Institute decided to bring groups of leaders together with regional examples of charter school excellence. Leaders from diverse schools were thus able to learn from each other and grow together.”
School leaders at host schools shared instructional strategies that have worked for their staff and students, especially in mathematics. They also hosted school tours and invited fellow leaders to observe the action happening their classrooms. During the tours, visiting leaders snapped photos of innovative bulletin boards, asked questions about instructional methods, and took pages of notes on classroom management strategies based on what they saw.
“It was a great thing to see how the leaders lead in the building. I learned that everyone does things differently – and that’s okay,” said Kalan Rogers, School Leader at Calhoun Falls Charter School. “There are some things that we’re taking back that we’ve never thought of before. The leaders in my group got together and said, ‘You have the student government; you have the newscast – send us an email. How’d you get that started?’”
This opportunity also provided valuable collaboration amongst virtual charter school leaders. At South Carolina Virtual Charter School, virtual leaders gathered for an in-person touch point where they shared issues that they faced with virtual learning and discussed ways to overcome them.
“I think the main takeaway is that we all have some of the same questions that we had when we started this journey for virtual education, but we’re still getting closer,” said David Crook, CEO of Cyber Academy of South Carolina and Heron Virtual Academy of South Carolina, and member of the Institute’s Leadership Cohort. “When you go to a school that’s lived the journey and they’re on the other side and seeing the benefits and the fruit of the effort, it gives you the confidence to keep working through those struggles.”
These school-based meetings are one strategy that the Institute is using to bring leaders together, despite being separated geographically across the state.
The Institute looks forward to providing more innovative growth opportunities and connecting school leaders across the state to Move the Needle for South Carolina’s students.
