An exciting partnership was recently announced to bring new learning opportunities to students in Fairfield County between Midlands STEM Charter School and the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics.
We recently talked to Chief Executive Officer Dr. TK Kennedy, Executive Director and Principal Chantell Berry, and Board Chair Kevin Thomas, to learn more about Midlands STEM Charter school, how the school serves the local community, and its new academic partnership.
Dr. TK Kennedy
“The Governor’s School is a first-class educational institution founded in 1988 with high-quality professional instruction in math, science, and engineering.
“Here in Fairfield County, we have limited access to these programs, and our partnership with the Governor’s School presents an incredible opportunity for local students to get exposure to that level of instruction without needing to be an in-residence student. Some students have life circumstances, such as being caregivers for family members, that make it challenging to live on campus at the Governor’s School.
“We are establishing a cohort of students who are eligible to attend the Governor’s School to attend live instruction right here at Midlands STEM, in their own classroom. They will receive this high-level instruction directly from educators at the Governor’s School using the latest technology. We will ensure the cohort is ready in the fall of 2025 for this rigor by requiring completion of certain courses by their sophomore year, including geometry and algebra.
“We are grateful that the Governor’s School will provide us with the technology we need to implement live instruction. On our end, we will provide a facilitator to be there in the classroom with the students. We are optimizing technology to advance education needs in our rural community.
“This partnership is a great example of how teachers and administrators can work together to expand their mission of delivering high-quality education to every corner of the state. Midlands Stem’s partnership with the Governor’s School could not have come to be without a previous connection I had with Dr. Zaria O’Bryant, the Director of Academic Outreach and Partnerships at the Governor’s School. Because of our past working relationship, she learned more about Midlands STEM and came to tour our campus. She shared the possibility of this partnership, and we jumped at the opportunity.
“Before I came to Midlands STEM, I provided technical support to distance learning programs at SCETV for a short period of time. I started my career in a traditional public school setting, teaching art and coaching in public high schools. However, I discovered that I had a passion to work with smaller learning environments and communities as a Freshman Academy principal in two separate traditional high schools. In 2014, I went to York Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Rock Hill, and later opened Legion Collegiate Academy in Rock Hill in 2019. I focused my energy in this small learning environment to introduce students to dual enrollment, college courses, and critical thinking skills. While at Legion, I developed partnerships with several colleges, such as York Technical College, Midland Technical College, University of South Carolina Union and Lancaster that I am excited to bring to the Mavericks.
“My passion is to work with young people, build them up, ensure their success, continuously invest in them, and do my part to enhance students’ educational opportunities in South Carolina.”
Kevin Thomas
“I cofounded Midlands STEM in 2014, in partnership with the former deputy superintendent at the Fairfield County School District to expand learning opportunities here in my home community. While there is a good private school in Fairfield County, there are families, sometimes with multiple children, who find it simply unaffordable to send all their children to private school.
“I wanted to give more educational choices to the local community, and we did that through a charter school application. We ended up being one of the first charter schools to become part of the Charter Institute at Erskine school district when it was formed in 2018.
“The relationship between Midlands STEM and the Institute has been fantastic. The servant leadership demonstrated to school leaders and Board members by Superintendent Cameron Runyan and Chief Operating Officer Vamshi Rudrapati, is exceptional. Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bill Roach is a liaison to our board. He has helped us learn how we could improve our instructional approach. Dr. Roach also supported our desire to improve governance, hosting us for a Board Retreat.
“At the retreat, the Institute provided academic data and drilled down into these data with presentations that gave us clear roadmaps to improve student outcomes. They also provided us with a consultant to assist us in a data-driven approach to help improve academic performance – and that is exactly what happened. Ultimately, it’s the students and families that truly benefit from the Institute’s leadership and support.
“Midlands STEM provides a great opportunity for the students in Fairfield County to take their education to the next level. We are providing children who need that extra challenge with advanced classes so they can graduate with AP credit and dual credits.
“We have a launching pad for the future, now that we have a new facility, which took 10 years to build. There is a K-4 community school, a dual enrollment partnership with Midlands Technical College, welding classes, and now, the new partnership with the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics. We have great new leadership with Dr. Kennedy here, and a curriculum aligned to higher education for different career tracks that match students’ needs, whether it is going to college, joining the military, or entering the workforce. Overall, the future looks very bright for Midlands STEM and the families of Fairfield County. I am very excited and also thankful that our charter school is part of the Institute family.”
Chantell Berry
Before joining the Midlands STEM team this summer, I served as Principal of Winecoff STEM Elementary (Cabarrus County Schools, North Carolina) from 2022-2024 where we utilized a STEM Coach who actively coached the teaching staff with multiple disciplinary STEM instructional strategies. This included built-in STEM Professional Learning Communities, professional development, and community engagement activities centered around technical focal areas.
Prior to that, I served as Executive Director and Principal of The Palmetto School (Rock Hill Schools-York 3, South Carolina) from 2019-2022. I worked closely with our grant committee to secure the South Carolina Arts in Basic Curriculum grant as well as the Distinguished Arts Program grant which aided in supporting the school’s STEAM initiative with emphasis on the Arts. Within this time, our students were exposed to Fine Arts, Dance, and Music during the curricular day. I saw students thriving daily in these settings using design model critical thinking skills.
In my current role here as the Executive Director and Principal of Midlands STEM Charter School, I look forward to the experience our high school students will have through our hybrid learning partnership with the Governor’s School. For our students who will engage in the comprehensive PK-12 matriculation at Midlands STEM, I am excited to share my elementary and middle level background to lay a strong foundation of STEM skills and inquiry. The relocation to our new campus this year has opened the door to enriching our STEM offerings for our students and increasing our partnerships. The Charter Institute at Erskine has been extremely supportive, as they understand the direction we want to take the school. I work very closely with my staff to ensure that we consistently put our students first in every aspect of the school day.
We would like to invite new families to our campus to learn more about this new partnership and what Midlands STEM Charter School will offer for the 2025-2026 school year. Please mark your calendars for the upcoming information sessions listed below:
- April 3, 9:30 am
- May 8, 6:00 pm
All meetings will be held in the school’s cafeteria/multipurpose room.
