♪[ UPBEAT MUSIC ]♪ Hello.

Welcome to Carolina Classrooms.

I'm Akil Ross.

On this episode, we're celebrating educators - teachers in the classroom and online and parents and guardians who became teachers over the past year and a half.

2021 South Carolina Teacher of the Year, Sarah Gams, has had an interesting year traveling the state and meeting with educators and students.

It's been an incredible year.

It's been the honor of my lifetime to serve as the 2021 South Carolina Teacher of the Year because this is maybe one of the most difficult years in education ever, I mean it's unprecedented.

We say that word a lot, we throw it around a lot, but that's because it's the truth and like so many professions and careers, we've had to change everything to make sure we can still serve our communities and our students.

So it's been a challenging year for teachers across South Carolina, across the nation and across the globe.

It's been a challenging year for students.

It's been a challenging year for their parents and the grandparents and the caregivers who are really coming together to make education a community responsibility.

So in this unique year, it has been my great honor to be able to travel the state and see how pandemic teaching, how crisis teaching, how emergency teaching, you know, whatever you want to call it, has served our students and our communities and it's really been incredible to watch.

A lot of schools have very strict visitor policies as they should and many of them were virtual.

So my experience this year has been going from virtual classrooms, to hybrid classroom where the teacher has students online and you can see their avatars or their little faces, and they also have students in the classroom that they're teaching all of them in real time.

It's an incredible thing to watch the teacher navigate the online students and making sure that instruction is equitable as they teach the students in class at the same time.

It's a tremendous amount of work.

It's a tremendous amount of responsibility and it is a complete tribute to the utter professionalism of teachers and the great knowledge that they have of students and of the way the brain works and how to instruct and how to provide content that we're able to do this dual modality and sometimes multiple modalities Of hybrid face to face socially distanced and then on quarantine, I have seen teachers teaching from home themselves on quarantine when they themselves were in quarantine and they they have the lesson ready and a substitute turns on the smart board and the teacher fills the screen and the room still has their students.

This has changed teaching forever and it's really been an incredible thing to travel the state and see from a bird's eye view what teachers have been able to do.

So serving as South Carolina Teacher of the Year this year, it's just my honor to celebrate the hard work of the teachers, the perseverance of the students, the collaboration with the parents and the community and the grandparents and all of this love and compassion and hope and instruction being poured into our students, despite the fact that this year has looked very different instructional and I'm just exceptionally, I get emotional because it's, it's deep pride I have in my fellow teachers, in building administrators and district office personnel and all the education experts who really have stepped up to the plate to make learning possible this year for our students.

When you have a crisis, you go back to those basic human needs that have to be fulfilled before you can move forward in any capacity and I think this is really made us stop and think.

What scares me about this year and about where we go from here is the narrative of being behind, the narrative of an achievement gap, the narrative of learning loss and it startles me and then this, this desire to get back to normal, whatever normal looks like or to get back to, I mean, Ive heard this phrase to back to real teaching or to get back to real school and I just have to say that this is as real as it gets.

We're living in the real world.

This is what the world looks like right now and our students have responded to the real world.

Test my child on some digital literacy, on pinning, on going to Google Meets, on navigating Google Classroom, on collaborating with his peers on Google slides.

Test them on that because he's basically learned a whole language, at eight.

And all of our students have just done tremendous, tremendous things as have our teachers and there is real learning and it is real work and it's harder work than it ever has been before because we are addressing all these inequities, but it makes me proud that we're doing it.

And so the narrative of being behind it, it's just not true.

If you take it comparatively and you compare this year to last year or the year before on a standardized test, will it look like we've got a learning gap?

Yes, but I think it's not a comparative year.

So it's, it's really, the data in that respect is for me fairly, fairly useless.

What I'm more interested in is where are we?

Where do we need to go?

What can we celebrate and how do we get there?

And teachers have been doing this forever.

We know where our students are when they come to us.

We know what they need to do to learn and to grow and then we know what to do instructionally to take them to the next level of our content and to the next grade level.

We know how to do this as professionals.

So it's, it's not being behind or filling gaps, it's just about good teaching.

It's just about working with the student in front of you and doing the next right thing for that student.

Whatever that is in that moment, and I really think we're doing it.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Tywanda Williams teaches first graders at L.W.

Conder Integrated Arts Magnet School.

She's had a busy year teaching her students in person and online while also caring for her own family.

It has been a year full of challenges, yet rewarding, but definitely a lot of challenges, personally and professionally.

Because my children in the kindergarten program did not have one to one, so everyone didn't have a Chromebook.

So the beginning of the year was just getting them acclimated to having their own Chromebook and learning you know typing skills because they had no clue.

So that was, what we spent the majority of the first couple of weeks in school doing and usually during the school year we like to give our children challenges and then we have that gradual release where they're able to do things independently in first grade.

This year, that gradual release didn't happen like it normally does, so we do a lot of whole group activities.

First of all you have to be very animated.

Very animated.

You have to be creative and you've got to make accommodations.

You've got to realize that they're, they're, they may be distracted because they're taking care of a family member or taking care of their baby sister or something like that.

So I have to make accommodations and I have to be super animated and think outside of the box.

Think outside of the box.

This year is not like any other year, so it's okay to try things.

It may work it may not, but you've gotta be creative.

So that has been very helpful.

Even though we're online, I still have different kids on different learning ability levels, so I have to compensate for that.

I mean I've got students who are reading on the third grade level, but then I have students who just got here from other country, another country and may not even speak English so I have to make accommodations for all of those students and not only for those students, but also for those parents.

This year, it has been of the utmost importance to make a connection with my parents because my parents are in different situations.

Some have lost their jobs.

Some have been laid off and that affects our kids.

Some of our parents have been sick and we've even had children who have lost family members.

That affects them.

So I have to be mindful to teach the whole child and to take care of my parents.

So, not only do I have to ask my students are they okay, I have to check in with my parents daily to see if they're okay.

And I can tell that they need it because they end up telling me things that they probably would not normally tell the teacher, but I realized that I may be all they have and they need help, so and so I just make accommodations for everybody because we're all, my theme for this year has been,"We're all in this together."

You cannot do it by yourself because that's what I came to realize.

I can't do it by myself as a parent, so I can't expect for them to do it by theirselves.

They don't know just like I don't know.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> As students adjusted to at home learning, parents and guardians took on a greater more active role in their child's education.

Well, it has been quite the experience.

As of March 2020, we have had a lot of challenges in my house.

I'm a mother of two, a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old daughter.

So when the pandemic started, I started working from home and both of my daughters switched to being home full time with me.

My six-year-old started doing virtual learning and it was challenging, it still is a challenge, however, we've gotten into the groove.

We've gotten into a sense of normalcy now, but it's been challenging because I've had to really delegate my time.

I think that was the biggest thing for me.

When I'm at work, I know that I am working.

When I'm off the clock, I know that I can go and check homework and spend time with my children.

But when you're all home together during the day and you have meetings and they have Zoom classes and one is running around, not knowing what to do, it gets a little frustrating, so I had to really take some time for self care and start giving myself a lot of grace.

That has saved me and we just developed a pattern.

Sometimes dishes may not get done every night.

Sometimes dinner might be take out.

You have to really give yourself grace.

That was the biggest thing I had to learn.

And that was actually my biggest challenge, feeling bad at the end of the day, when not everything was done or wondering, did I spend enough time with my children?

Did I give my all in this meeting I have for work?

But we, we went with the flow and here we are a year and some change later and things are certainly getting better, even though we're both still doing virtual and I'm back at work, but I'm also working from home at some parts of the day.

So we're still, we're working it out.

<Tywanda Williams> I've got four children and with everything being virtual, I have a 25-year-old who is still in college and then I have my, I'm down to my 11-year-old.

The one in college is doing awesome with the online.

My middle school student, this has been a year that has challenged her in ways that I didn't think she would have.

I mean she's a gifted student.

She's always made A's and B's, but because of the pandemic, it has caused an issue with her mental health and even before I came on, when I got invited to be on the show, I said, "well, I've been invited to be on the show and they're going to ask me questions about how my children have done during the pandemic.

Are you going to be okay with me talking about your mental health?"

and she said, "You've gotta go on the show because people need to know that just because you're smart does not mean that you are not suffering from the isolation."

And since my husband has cancer, she's more isolated than your normal student, so she doesn't get to experience some, I mean even going shopping, she doesn't, we go to Sam's and wait in the parking lot.

She can't even go into a store because we're trying to keep my husband safe.

So it's been a super, super challenging year for her.

Now my 11-year-old loves online schooling and has made A's and got all types of awards so I have had a hodgepodge of emotions and conversations in my house and that's how it's been all year.

And now that, now that we are getting shots, I have my shot.

My husband has got his first shot.

So now we're easing up a little bit and I've allowed them to go back into the classroom and immediately that interaction for my, my teenager has made the world of difference.

So I think we're going to make it to high school 'cuz we've been praying.

But her mental health is really been my major issue this year and I have found out that it is okay to say I don't know and it is okay to say I'm not okay and it's okay to get help and so that's what we did for her.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Beth Hendrick teaches English for speakers of other languages at Pee Dee Elementary School in Horry County.

It's very multi sensory so we are you know listening to each other.

We're moving.

We're speaking.

We're reading.

We're writing and it's just very engaging so you know we do a lot of academic vocabulary, a lot of reading different variety of text and we try to incorporate all the domains every day so kids can interact and listen to each other through Kagan Structures that's cooperative learning and then they are able to practice what they're learning with each other and kind of learn from each other and just, just really engaging multi sensory experience.

There's definitely some challenges.

It's I think hard because a lot of them, they might know a lot of English from T.V.

and things like that, but learning academic English is a whole different story and if you think about it, we are all academic English learners no matter how old we are, we can still learn new words and so I think that's part of the challenge is you have to really have the vocabulary in your oral language before you can really understand it when you're reading and writing.

So, we definitely just work on that.

We try to focus on what they need to be successful in their classroom.

So whatever content they're learning in science and social studies, what they're going to come across with in E.L.A.

and we just focus on what they need to know and do to be successful.

The past year and a half has been interesting to say the least.

We I think I have learned a lot from everything.

So when we first started teaching during the pandemic, I would call that E-learning for Emergency learning.

Nobody really knew what to expect or what to do, but I think we kind of made it through that hard first part and then coming back this year I think we all had a better expectation for what we needed to put in place to help our students.

So, we had a plan for hybrid instruction and for in person instruction and then distance learning.

So, with a plan, you know that teachers always have a good plan, right?

So we had a good plan and then we were able to implement that and it's definitely been a learning experience, but I think that now this school year is starting to feel a lot more normal and we've all really adjusted.

So, it's been a learning curve, but I think a good one.

We've learned a lot.

I think that we really are just trying to help our students to be successful whether we are preparing them for a career or for college and I think we really want students to find their purpose, their calling and then use that to make a difference in the world.

So I like to tell my students that they don't have to wait till they're older to make a difference.

They can make a difference now.

So I think if we kind of help our students to be servant leaders and learn how to serve in the community, that's what's going to make our communities and state a better place to be.

So really just serving one another and you know, advocating for equality in education and removing barriers that would come across for languages or race or ethnicity.

I think we all just need to unite and embrace diversity and just kind of work together to make the state even better than it already is.

I'm very excited to be working with the other Honor Roll teachers and our new South Carolina Teacher of the Year and so we will have some wonderful opportunities to collaborate and work with the teacher forum and so I think that'll be wonderful to help continue to encourage and equip teachers across the state.

In order to better meet the needs of our students and to empower them to be successful and just be the best they can be, so I'm really looking forward to just getting to the heart of what matters in education and working with other wonderful educators to do that.

♪ I have a lot of teachers that really made an impact on me and my education time and there were certain things that certain teachers did that kind of put me on.

One teacher, you know, who was just telling me like you know, always believe in yourself or really affirm that I was going to be great.

I think you know coming into a class every day and somebody saying you're going to be somebody really let me know that I am going to be somebody, no matter what other people may say because my teacher said it.

So I have a lot of teachers who helped me out through the way.

I don't have one in particular, but they really helped me on my journey and even now I talk to some of my old teachers and I'm like, "Thank you so much because I remember when you did this, or I remember when you did that," and that's from all levels, elementary, middle, high school and even college professors as well.

♪ <Dr.

Akil Ross> Jenny Proctor teaches journalism at Lugoff-Elgin High School in the Kershaw County School District.

She's a strong advocate for education and community partnerships.

So in the Journalism 1 class, the students are involved in kind of field survey of journalism as a whole.

We talk about reporting, writing interview questions, writing stories.

We also do, we talk about photography and they do a unit on that.

We discuss broadcast and they have to produce a commercial.

We talk about graphic design and they have to create an infographic where they've, they compile information along with images in order to communicate a message.

So we honestly do a little bit of everything in that class.

And while they're doing that hands-on work, it's just for our class.

I encourage them, strongly encourage them to present the work they create because I tell them, you know if they're going to become a member of yearbook or broadcast staff, they have to become comfortable with other people seeing their work.

It's so unique because in journalism the work they do isn't just a homework or it's not a quiz.

You know, it is something that our community will see, so I try to get them comfortable with sharing their work.

Obviously, my yearbooks students create the yearbook and it is a pet peeve of mine when people say, "Oh well, is yearbook even really journalism?"

Well, yes, it is because to me journalism is telling stories and that's what my yearbook students do, whether they're writing a story about a student who has gone through a traumatic experience or whether they're covering the homecoming queen, they are enlightening the rest of our school community about that individual and that contributes to our culture at our school.

When students understand other students, they're able to appreciate one another and it's a way to unify our, it's a way to unify our school.

And so, they just tell stories.

Our photographers tell stories obviously by taking pictures and editing those pictures and our designers tell stories by laying it all out in an appealing way so that people want to engage with the page and read that story or look at those photographs.

In addition to having a yearbook staff, we also have a broadcast program called L.E.T.V.

and those students produce a five-minute news show once a week where they are also of course, like updating the student body about important events and covering stories about our students and our teachers.

It's just awesome to watch students become storytellers whether, no matter what field they're or what platform they're using.

But, when they become the storytellers, it gives them so much, so much power to have a good influence at our school.

So I hope that I am able to inform our community, our parents about the importance of community engagement in our schools.

Education, obviously as a teacher, I understand we have a great responsibility to educate our students in South Carolina.

You know, and I believe this year has shown us the importance of that teacher being with his or her students and having that connection, however, education was never meant to happen solely in the classroom.

If we are going to prepare our high school graduates to be college and career ready, then we need the support of as many community organizations as possible.

You know something as simple as offering an internship to a high school student can make all the difference and how prepared that student is for his or her next steps.

and so, I would like to expose the community to ways they can give back to schools, how they can help our teachers by helping our students and honestly anytime we see someone, whether it's a volunteer or whether it's a business supporting a school function or sponsoring an event or offering an opportunity to a student, it makes teachers feel valued and it builds our morale because we see that the community knows that it's, it's a shared responsibility.

So if I can do anything during my time as an Honor Roll teacher, I would really like to look for ways to get our communities more involved in our classrooms.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Students in the Convergence Media Magnet program at Richland Northeast High School have spent their year telling stories about their school and community.

They won multiple scholastic journalism Awards for their reporting.

Cavplex Convergence Media is a journalism magnet in Richland Two.

Here we specialize in digital media, broadcast, social media, online web.

Then we have the print side, which is our print publications, newspaper literary magazine, yearbook, which focuses on photography, writing and design.

Students are ideally learning how to give a voice to the voiceless in whatever medium they choose.

They're learning how to be non-biased.

They're they're learning how to interview people, communicate, to set up the interviews, talking to people who may be in places of power or elected officials, soft skills while they're learning how to collaborate with their group members because I usually work with other students, leadership skills because our, all of our publications are student lead.

They make all content decisions.

And students are learning how to organize, meet deadlines, write, film, edit.

All of the things that you would expect a student to do to produce any type of media.

This year I've done quite a few news stories.

I did a sports story this past football season.

It was about how there was a lot of improper calls and they were having a shortage of refs this season, just with COVID and everything.

So I got to do that.

And then another big story that I did was a story on how to vote.

It educated students and teachers as well and you know how to vote, where to go, their polling places, how to look up that information, how voting changed with COVID.

Me and Jackson Stanton, I've worked with him pretty much all year on all my stories.

We did a story on the graduation tickets.

So, they were only originally allowing two people at graduation and students from our school, including Elijah Slater were petitioning and speaking with people like Baron Davis, our superintendent, people from Colonial Life Arena, which was the original venue trying to make that change and so we did a story kind of showing how that process was for them and then how we ended up now with four tickets at graduation.

It was pretty cool.

I definitely did not expect for my story to be kind of part of it.

I think the story just kind of showed more of the superintendent and the district office that, look we all care, all of the students in the district.

We want our families to see us like graduate.

Two tickets wasn't enough and it was really life changing, I guess.

I realized that I could actually make a change.

For this year, in particular, I kind of have like a background story in terms of like the different types of content that I produced this year.

So, over the summer, the whole like, police brutality situation was super big.

The George Floyd situation kind of hit me super hard, and I kind of came to the realization that I had like become desensitized to the issue myself.

It's because like every day you turn on the news like there's like another, you know mass murder of you know, African-American men and women that are being killed by police officers and so I just came in with the intent this year to kind of create content that kind of shines light on the Black community in a positive light.

Another story we did was on locs and that's kind of unique to the African-American community because it kind of tells a story.

Another story that I recently did was on a Black owned barbecue shop in downtown Columbia.

The owner of the restaurant kind of talked about the railroad and how it kind of symbolizes going from rags to riches within the African-American community.

He even talked about how, you know, during slavery, African-Americans were given the leftovers and with that they made soul food.

And so that was another cool experience that kind of, you know, shine light on the African-American community.

Throughout the year, I did a lot of stories on Black issues and Black businesses and things like that.

So, me and Kirslyn Gunter worked on a story about LICK Ice Cream, which is here on Clemson Road and they're a Black owned business that recently opened and they're very nice and welcoming.

One of their alumni actually came from Richland Northeast.

It was just an amazing time to celebrate Black businesses 'cuz you don't see that a lot in Columbia, South Carolina.

<Ebony Christie> I've also produced a C-SPAN documentary with Elijah Slater.

It was on H.B.C.U.

's and often times when we talk about H.B.C.U.

's or other people talk about H.B.C.U.

's, it's not always in the best light and we kind of gathered research and we talked to politicians and even H.B.C.U.

alums and they kind of talked about you know, H.B.C.U.

's not being a second choice.

<Elijah Slater> And we had the chance to uplift the H.B.C.U.

's and show the case that they do need to be funded.

They are very important for Black culture and for Black students and for Black teachers as well so they can connect that we're just not a statistic, that we're just not a number for anybody else.

We are very important and we're very useful.

We are very smart, intelligent and all those things that we could do at H.B.C.U.

compared to other schools.

<A.J.

Chambers> To me, giving a voice to the voiceless is taking those voices that are muted and pressing that unmute button and allowing their voice to get volume.

<Elijah Slater> For me, as an African-American male, it's important to me to use my voice because there's a lot of misconceptions about us.

There's a lot of stereotypes about us, so it's important for me to use my voice and showcase us as a very important thing in America.

It's a very important to know that our voices should be heard.

Our voices do matter.

Our voices are the future.

<Ebony Christie> I think it means, you know, ensuring that, like, the testimonies that often are, like in the dark are uncovered for people to kind of like hear and it's not even just about like the African-American community in terms of like their voice.

It's just like for everybody in general because there's other issues like L.G.B.T.Q.issues and other racial issues outside of like the African-American community that we also shine light on and I think like that's the power of giving a voice to the voicelesss, like when a certain group of people, they aren't given the opportunity to do so.

That's where journalists kinda come in and they kind of bridge the gap and kind of inform people and, that's what I like about journalism.

Like, without it, we wouldn't know so much and because of it we are in the know and I think journalism is what makes the world go round.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Dani Stroud is the lead science teacher at Gilbert High School in Lexington District One.

She's passionate about, including all students in her classes, no matter their level of learning.

This semester, my schedule is, I teach a special needs science class.

It's called Essentials In Science concurrently with a class I've created called Unified Science, which takes some general ed students and puts them in the class with my special needs students so that I have extra eyes and ears and hands so that we're able to do lab activities safely.

So in that science course right now, we're focusing on Physical Science.

So, we've done a little bit of chemistry with them and now we're doing some physics but having those regular ed students in there with me allows us to take them outside and use meter sticks and stopwatches and to use toy cars and ramps and all those kinds of things so we're actually doing a lot of hands-on work.

The state of South Carolina has a level of special needs where students are getting a credentialing certificate instead of a regular high school diploma.

So these students are coming out of the program and they are employable.

And so, we use the term Occupational Credentialed Program to OCP students.

So, the students that I have in that course, their reading abilities range anywhere from kindergarten to about sixth grade with about a second grade average, and some of the students are more versed in the English language arts and others are better with math.

Some of them come to us with severe traumas in their life and so they have learning disabilities of all sorts.

So that's the course that I teach with them.

I really have two messages and the first message that is just for everybody is that our students are not behind.

They really aren't and I understand when people say you know, according to statistics and according to data, we should be at this point.

We should be at this point, but as I explained to everybody, they're not behind.

They're exactly where they need to be at this moment because we're exactly where we need to be and we've learned so many different types of skills and these children are so good at adjusting to what this world has become and that is so much more important and they're so more flexible and it's, it's just phenomenal, the way that they have been able to really adapt and I really think that Our students that are graduating now are going to be better time managers.

They're going to know more about what pitfalls to look for in their workplace, like are they, do they have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning?

Do they have a hard time if they're taking a virtual class?

Do they have a hard time if they can't be face to face?

And they learn these things before they get to a job or the military or career or college where those skills sometimes sink kids and I think that that's great.

So we are, the kids are great.

The kids are.

Find the teachers are working extra hard.

We want to see the kids in our classrooms.

We want to be with them and and I think kids truly know that we care about them now after all of this.

But the second thing that I really want to get out there is kind of related to that special needs class that I have.

We have 10 to 15% of the worldwide population has learning disabilities and we need to do everything in our power to make sure that those students are included in everything we do.

At our school, that means academic inclusion, that means social inclusion and that means physical inclusion.

They need to be around each other and they don't deserve to sit in a classroom with one teacher and those teachers are fabulous, don't get me wrong.

But that one teacher can have that child from the age of 14 to 21 and they could stay in that same room in a high school, their entire career, and that is not inclusion.

That is not what these kids need because not only do those students need to feel a part of everything that high school has to offer, they also should have a chance to do experiments with beakers and be taught by teachers who have a true passion for a subject area, and they need to be able to interact with our other students, especially as they build career and learner skills.

That's the only way to do it.

But on the flip side of that, our general student population needs the opportunity to interact with these students that make up such a large portion of our population.

They need to learn empathy, they need to learn that different people communicate and learn and deal with adversity in different ways and that's only going to make our society stronger.

It's only going to lead to all students being ethical people, all students contributing to a better world and all students learning how to be effective learners so that we can continue to build something fantastic in our state and in our nation.

So, schools need to think outside the box.

They can contact me about how to get this program started because it was from the ground up and it just takes a little bit of thinking and a little bit of talking and for a lot of, a lot of years, it's been okay to have small A.P.

classes.

It's been okay to have small dual enrollment courses, but we need to be giving these other students at the other end of the spectrum just as many opportunities because good teaching is good, teaching and engaging learning is engaging learning and it doesn't matter whether you are here or in the middle or way up high or at any place in the spectrum, you deserve a quality education.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Angelica Childes teaches fourth grade in the Greenville County School's virtual program.

I, in the virtual setting, am able to see an insider's perspective into the home, lives and family of my students because I'm literally in their homes with them and so that gives me a unique insight into some of their daily struggles and also enables me to build a connection with them.

I've had pets and siblings and other special trinkets just easily accessible and to share both from my perspective and my side and I can share with them, but then they can share with me and the rest of the class.

So, I initially thought that it would be difficult to build those relationships in a virtual setting being disconnected in some way in our separate spaces and on the computer, but really, it's enabled me to learn how to build relationships in a different way.

So, we use Google Meet in Greenville County School District and Google Classroom to access our assignments and give feedback and one great thing that Google did for us this year was give us the ability to have breakout rooms.

So, normally in the classroom setting, I do a lot of turn and talks, students having conversations with a partner or in small groups.

I really believe that communication between students is important and getting students talking as much as they can is best for learning and for relating to other people.

And, so one thing that I've, really leaned on is those breakout rooms to where I put my students in small group settings within the virtual world, and I'm able to pop into those small groups and facilitate learning that way.

So through small group instruction is how I've aimed to meet the diverse needs of my classroom.

Just like in the classroom we as teachers need to sharpen that skill not only in our content area, but certainly behavior management and engagement, and so that's something that I do in a different way now being online again because I have access to my home and their home.

It's able to, I'm able to use really tools and people and animals and things from the real world setting that are within reach to engage my students.

So in the classroom when we had a problem that we're working on fractions this past week a problem about baking, I can turn the computer, step into my kitchen and get my measuring cups out and pour that flour and so I'm able to use the things around me to keep them captivated and engaged.

One of the things that I'm most passionate about is having social emotional learning for all students, but also all educators in every school in South Carolina.

I think that nationwide, we're seeing a shift in education and certainly we're not taking our hands off of and eyes off of academics, but we are adding to academics.

We're adding social emotional learning.

We see a need.

When you turn on the news today, you can see that our nation is fractured and divided, and there's a need to teach people how to handle their emotions and how to relate to and get along with people particularly those people who are different from them, to handle anxiety and depression and stress, and so now, teachers have a different job and a bigger job to teach the whole child.

So I look forward to our state requiring social emotional learning in all schools funding social emotional learning in all schools and giving teachers the training, the tools, the resources that they need in order to instruct and develop the whole child.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Kathleen Smith is a first grade teacher for Anderson School District One's Virtual Learning Academy.

With strong support from the district's leaders, fellow educators, I.T.

experts and parents, she is dedicated to making virtual learning as close as possible to face to face learning.

<Kathleen Smith> I am like so lucky, because it doesn't matter what's going on in your own life.

You have first graders walk into your classroom, they will have you smiling in two seconds flat.

You know, just their enthusiasm for life and their joy.

I get to be with that.

Last year, when the pandemic started, I clearly remember coming into our building and it was just so quiet and there were no children here, and we had one day for us to get everything ready to prepare for the children virtually.

We really worked as a great team, like every single grade level.

We put together packets that we thought were really important.

We made sure we have some books for the children, and we made sure they all had everything they needed and I was very impressed as a faculty, how dedicated we were and how quickly we assimilated to this new method.

♪ (gentle music) ♪ ♪ ♪ The reading coaches establish all our routines.

They figured out exactly how we were going to schedule each day.

The pacing guides of how we're going to approach everything, and then we had this amazing team of I.T.

They came in and they trained all of us.

And so with that support system, I could really just go ahead and rock and roll through the year.

It was incredible experience.

[speaking to class] So we would do that just to get to know each other's names.

I'm already here and I was very impressed because we never did that with you.

What was really important to me at first was making a connection to the children.

I made up songs and little ditties every single month, so like for September and October, it was more about learning our names from each other, like this month you know I was talking about, [singing] ♪ good morning, good morning ♪, and then they would say their own little things.

[singing] ♪ It's great I lost a tooth , ♪ and then there'd be like a little opportunity for them to sing it, and tell us something new that happened to them that night, and you'd be surprised at how that just brings them right into activity and how they want to learn.

I also make sure I follow all the lessons that we normally have in a face to face setting and we have this wonderful program where we do many lessons it's for reading.

[speaking to class] Get your books and I can't wait to see them.

I share, I demonstrate with them in how you approach this reading strategy, or comprehension strategy, and then I literally have them go into their own little individualized rooms, and I kind of pop in, trying to get to as many children as I can.

Then we come out, and then we actually practice those reading skills, and I pop them into their own partnerships.

[speaking to class] Are you being great partners to each other?

Then what they do is they practice that with each other.

[chanting and clapping] Double, double compound Double, double compound Anything we did, I modeled it for them.

I would show them seriously how it's done, but then I think they learn even better when I'm a goofball, and I'm like, should I be doing this when my friend is reading?

And I'm just like sitting there doing different things or I pretend I'm jumping on my chair.

I really demonstrate and model it for them, and then they know how it feels and what it looks like and so that's just one model.

Then we go... we use the same model for phonics.

I use the same model for writing, and then, boom!

They go and they write.

They'll show me.

They're like, sometimes you get stuck on words, and like, you know what?

Get your beautiful creative thoughts down on paper.

We can worry about what it's spelled later and they finally are starting to believe me.

And a similar model again then for math.

♪ [singing to class] ♪ ♪ Zero the hero saves this place ♪ So all the other numbers can stay in their place, yeah.

I really feel very strongly what I call brain breaks.

[speaking to class] I can't hear you.

Are you ready for a brain break?

[students respond] Yeah!

This is really a wonderful experience to see them do pretty much everything we do in class.

I have to deliver 20 books per child, every two weeks.

We want to make sure the books are in hand, because if they're in school face to face, they're having such access to just so many different books in our classrooms.

So that was gonna be a big commitment.

I am supposed to deliver to three different schools within my school district, and it was a bit daunting at first, and I have this incredible friend, who kept asking me every year Do you need any help?

and she comes in every two weeks.

<Kay Wilbanks> It was a new program for her, so I come over here and I help her get her books ready.

<Kathleen Smith> We sit there trying to figure out, okay, this is more nonfiction this week.

Let's try to find more non fiction books.

Wait a minute, we're more in the fiction unit and I'm always trying to make sure I have all my anchor charts, poems, any kind of writing paper that they're going to need, <Kay Wilbanks> - because usually you're here school.

You know exactly what you need and she was trying to think of everything she's going to need for the whole two weeks.

It was a lot to take up.

Because the children are our future, and if I help her, it's going to take the stress off of her.

She's gonna be able to help the children more.

<Kathleen Smith> It was a little bit harder for the families at first.

I was very concerned about them.

<Anne P. Green> In the beginning, it was a change, right?

It was something new.

<Kathleen Smith> It was a whole lot for them to learn.

<Anne P. Green> From 7:30 in the morning until 2:00, 2:15 in the afternoon, This is my full time job.

<Kathleen Smith> They're the ones who are picking up the books that they have to get and these anchor charts and papers every two weeks, and then they go back home and they're organizing it for them.

<Heather Crawford> Mrs. Smith gave us an excellent organization packet.

We have everything divided into the folders so that's it's easy, just say okay, it's a writing assignment - writing folder, so it's made that a little easier.

<Kathleen Smith> They are right there helping them to be ready and prepared to go for it for the school day, <Anne P. Green> And it's not just the parents.

I mean, it is grandparents, it is siblings, older siblings.

<Kathleen Smith> I really don't even know if it really truly can happen without their support.

<Heather Crawford> The communication is way better, vastly better in virtual learning.

<Anne P. Green> Every time my daughter has a need, it's met, like immediately.

They're learning to read and write and spell.

It's incredible, so the biggest reward is just being able to watch that take place.

<Heather Crawford> This year has proven that my daughter is going to do great, and it's all because of the wonderful teachers that she's had this year.

That's been very rewarding for both my daughter and me.

<Kathleen Smith> So during this new pandemic, I realize what the true essence, I'm going to cry... of it is love, and you know, you love these kids, sorry, and um... [voice breaking with emotion] and they're right here on my shoulders, they're right here in my heart, so I would go to the end of the world for them.

So when we couldn't see, boom, I think a lot of teachers can relate to this.

When we couldn't those babies like boom, one day they're not there.

When you get to maybe see them again, and I just need to see them one more time, even if we're giving each other an air hug from across, and I just want them to know I'm still their cheerleader, and for these children, well, they may not have me like right there next to them, reading with them, or really writing with them on a... hearing those beautiful thoughts and showing them how much they're progressing.

I miss that, I miss that, you know, where I can really just say 'yay' you know.

Just be right there with them, but what this pandemic reminded me, Hey, if I don't make that strong relationship with the child, if I don't reach them somehow, then how can learning even take place?

So, you know, they've only been alive six or seven years, and so we need to really look at them as the whole person.

You know, what coping skills can I help them with?

What, you know, did they have enough to eat today?

[voice breaking with emotion] You know, in the end, that's even more important.

♪ <Dr.

Shane Robbins> My favorite teacher was our head athletic trainer, a health teacher, my coach and I just absolutely loved him.

I respected him.

He was like a second father to me and so when I went to school, that's that's really what I want to do is be him and so, you know I you know, I think teachers can have an amazing impact on people.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Beginning in 2021, South Carolina E.T.V.

Education offered a media literacy professional learning cohort.

Assisted with P.B.S.

grant funding, educators learned a variety of ways to teach their students.

how to think critically about their roles as media consumers and creators.

They also earn credits towards their P.B.S.

Media literacy Educators certification by K.Q.E.D.

Congratulations to Tamara Cox, Lekena Ackerman and Marie Girolamo.

Who have completed the program.

Visit carolinaclassroom.org for more information on this program and these instructors.

Amy Carter is an English teacher at Chapin High School in Lexington-Richland School District Five, and she is South Carolina's 2022 State Teacher of the Year.

<Amy Carter> I feel like I have learned a lot of different, you know different ways to teach than I ever thought that it would be part of my career this year, but it's been going well.

One of the more famous parts of my classroom is something called the phone drawer.

We call it going zero dark Carter.

so at the beginning of class, I tell them you know, let me be your bad guy.

Kids sometimes need help self regulating.

So when they come in the room, usually I'll make them shake my hand, look me in the eye, of course that's with a glove this year, but they surrender their phone to the phone drawer and I tell them if you will give me your attention; I teach on a 90 minute block.

And so, I ask them if you'll give me your attention and participate and engage and be present, I will give you a break in the middle of that long class and, and so I asked them to engage by you know sacrificing that electronic.

you know technology that electronic pull to the world outside and they put it in the drawer and we focus on each other and we take a little break and then we put it back.

They will tell you they don't like it, but I think a lot of times kids need someone to say let's be present, you know and they appreciate not having to do that on their own.

They appreciate someone telling them to do that or to have them do that.

I don't know that there's ever any going back.

I think normal is there's a new standard for what that means and you know to brag on the students and the educators this year, I think that we've all had to be resilient.

We've all had to be malleable and do things differently than what we thought or expected.

So you know, moving forward, I think that we've learned new ways to engage and new ways to interact and connect and I think that there are such a valuable conversations to be had moving forward about how to refine those methods.

You know, one of the really challenging parts of the last year has been that we were thrown into the deep end of the pool.

You know nobody on what was it, on March 13th last year, we didn't, we left school, traditional school for a weekend, and we're told to just reinvent everything, reinvent the wheel.

And so I kind of felt like we spent a long time catching up and now we have the advantage to be able to look back and assess what worked and what didn't and what we need to carry with us moving forward.

But I'm excited.

I'm excited about what we were able to push ourselves to do and maybe how we can refine those to be even better moving forward and incorporate those as part of I think digital citizenship and you know greater connection.

I would have never thought last year that I could bring so many speakers into my room by using Google Meet or Zoom you know.

but what a wonderful tool.

I have the opportunity to hopefully talk about connection.

One of the things that's really important to me as an educator is that before we ever teach a standard a lesson we teach children and when they walk into our room, it's really important to connect with those people in front of us.

So I hope to be parts of conversations this year about how we, how we can connect sincerely genuinely and use even better strategies and methods to do that.

Sometimes connection has to happen right now with a computer screen in between us and even though that connection medium is new connection methods, we can fall back on strategies that work.

The most simple method that I think goes maybe, well, the most simple method I think is just saying a student's name when they walk through your door and saying good morning.

You know, it's nice to have you and and having at least one adult say their name during the day.

Our names are really important to us and as you pop into a Google Meet to have someone say, hey good morning, Amy.

Thank you so much for being a part of the class or if that's in a classroom.

I think that that's a very valuable way to connect with students.

The best thing that we can do as educators is to have conversations about what is working well and the positive things that we do.

It's so easy to hear the noise out there and to be discouraged.

But, when I shut my classroom door and I have those 24 kids in front of me, you know, times six classes that I teach, that's sacred time and it is so it is so much of a honor to be able to work with these kids who are on the cusp of adulthood.

And so when we talk about that, when we talk about our position, not just as people who deliver content, but as mentors, that's a very poignant profession to be in and I think that the teacher cadets after they learn about connection and engagement and you know of course, standards and content, once they kind of go through the whole year and learn about what it really is like to be a teacher and to work with people.

I think that they have a new and profound respect for what we do in the classroom and I think a lot of them leave considering a profession they might not have considered before they took the class.

<Dr.

Akil Ross> Thank you so much, South Carolina educators, school support staff and all others who have kept our schools running and our students learning this year.

We encourage you to share your stories with us and honor your favorite educators on our Facebook page or by email.

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