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Furman names finalists for WhatWorksSC Award

Staff Report //September 30, 2019//

Furman names finalists for WhatWorksSC Award

Staff Report //September 30, 2019//

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The Riley Institute at Furman University has announced the three finalists for the 2019 Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award, which celebrates promising education initiatives that are improving outcomes for South Carolina’s students.

“I am delighted to honor and celebrate these wonderful programs,” Dick Riley, former two-term Governor of South Carolina and United States Secretary of Education, said in a news release. “The finalists this year show that there are exciting things happening in our state to support new teachers, to prepare students for college and careers, and to help students during critical afterschool hours.”

This year’s finalists are:

  • Carolina Teacher Induction Program, a University of South Carolina-based program that supports new teachers as they transition from university student to leading and teaching in a classroom of their own;
  • Pickens County Career and Technology Center, a center where faculty members work to help students develop the skills for success in college and the workplace by encouraging students to explore their talents and interests, and then identify career opportunities that match those skills and interests; and
  • WINGS for Kids, a comprehensive afterschool initiative designed to equip at-risk kids in kindergarten through fifth-grade with the skills they need to succeed in school, stay in school and thrive in life.

A national selection committee of corporate leaders and education experts selected the finalists from a pool of statewide nominations. Each year, the three finalists are added to Riley Institute’s WhatWorksSC Clearinghouse — an online repository of initiatives that have strong data to support how they are improving public education in South Carolina, the release said.

Rile will announce the winner at a lunch event at 12:30 p.m., on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Prior to the awards presentation, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will join Riley on stage for a conversation about public education.

Registration and information are available online.

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