Headlines in the Midlands
Newberry College Becomes Center of Excellence
NEWBERRY, SC - July 29, 2010 - Statistics show that over half of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years of beginning their careers. This turnover creates a tremendous drain on South Carolina public school finances and student achievement. To help solve this retention problem, Newberry College announces the establishment of a Center of Excellence for Teacher Retention funded through a five-year grant from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.
Chair of the Department of Education, Dr. Cindy Johnson-Taylor is well-pleased with the opportunities this distinction will afford the College. "This prestigious grant provides the Department of Education the opportunity to create a sustainable Center leading to increased teacher retention." She will serve as the Director of the RETAIN Center of Excellence; the Assistant Director is Jennifer Morrison, Assistant Professor of Education. Angela Floyd has been hired to serve as the Coordinator of Public School Projects. This administrative position will provide support to the numerous collaborations between Newberry College and local public schools. RETAIN stands for "Retain and Empower Teachers through Action, Innovation, and Networking," clarifies Johnson-Taylor.
The purpose of RETAIN is to increase teacher retention in high-need schools. "We will implement innovative retention strategies and practices, high-quality in-service professional development, and integrate current and action research," affirms Johnson-Taylor. In order to achieve this purpose, RETAIN will partner with Fairfield County School District, Lexington 4 School District, and the School District of Newberry County.
Executive Director of Human Resources in the School District of Newberry County, Pam Arrington states, "In today's educational landscape of accountability, we work tirelessly to provide high-quality teachers for our students. Through this partnership with Newberry College, retention is addressed through mentoring and professional development. Mentoring is the number-one strategy for teacher retention. Everyone wins when new teachers receive tailored, long-term support and on-going professional development."
Morrison is excited about RETAIN's vision. "Even in times of economic crisis, retaining high quality teachers is a challenge. We're looking forward to making RETAIN a resource that teachers and school leaders around South Carolina can count on for quality programming and accessible research. We will build on South Carolina's hard-earned successes, network with existing organizations, and – together with our partner districts – move the state forward."
RETAIN has three goals which will positively impact retention in SC: increase teacher retention in high need school districts through an innovative retention program, high-quality in-service professional development and research related to teacher retention.
"Newberry College is perfectly poised to build a successful Center of Excellence," believes Morrison. "We have the talent, we have the vision and we have the commitment needed to impact teacher retention in South Carolina."
RETAIN is scheduled to open August 2 and will be housed in 202 McClurg on the campus of Newberry College. For more information, please contact Jennifer Morrison at jennifer.morrison@newberry.edu or call the RETAIN office at 803-321-5211.
A note about the personnel:
Cindy Johnson-Taylor came to Newberry from Winthrop University where she served as Director of the Teacher Education Program for nine years. Under her leadership for the past four years, the department has added three new majors leading to teacher certification and has increased from 60 to more than 250 students.
Johnson-Taylor is published in the areas of mentoring, teacher education and school leadership. She serves on the Professional Review Committee for the State Board of Education and is recognized in the state as a driving force in teacher education. She is a consultant for the National Drop Out Prevention Center. Additionally, she is the President of the South Carolina Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, a member of the board of directors of Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA) and is the principal investigator for grants totaling in the millions.
Jen Morrison is a regular presenter at national conferences and publishes in magazines like Teacher Magazine, Classroom Leadership, and Educational Leadership. In 2006, Morrison was featured in ASCD's Best Practices in Action video, Using Visualization to Enhance Background Knowledge. She works with teachers and administrators all over the nation to move teaching and learning toward 21st century standards and expectations.
In addition to being a finalist for Teacher of the Year in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools early in her career, Morrison was the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's (ASCD) international Outstanding Young Educator Award winner in 2004 and Teacher of the Year for Mid-Carolina High School in 2009.
Angie Floyd joins the team at Newberry College after having served in the Lexington District Five public schools for several years. She brings experience in office management and events planning to the Department of Education. In addition to working with the Center of Excellence, she will work with Project Directors for Teacher Cadets, Teaching Fellows, Call Me MISTER and the Noyce grant to recruit and prepare math and science teachers.
