CarolinaCAP – Year Three Annual Report
The Carolina Collaborative for Alternative Preparation (CarolinaCAP) is a high-quality, targeted alternative preparation pathway administered by the University of South Carolina (UofSC) in…
From Knowing to Listening: A Coach’s Journey
By Melissa Klosterman Once upon a time… There was a sagey old teacher who thought that she knew everything about helping rookie teachers. Today there is a wiser, even older teacher who knows…
An Alternative Certification Pathway You Want to Support
By Kathy Schwalbe Recently, a South Carolina teacher posed a question about policymakers continuing to entertain the idea of “shortcuts” for people to become teachers in our state. She asked, “How do…
Rising to the Challenge
By Brad Washington I knew sooner or later that a classroom would be calling my name. I worked with the Boys & Girls Club for more than ten years and as a behavior interventionist for seven years…
Giving Up Is Not An Option
By YKesha Brown I sat in my living room on September 5th, 2021, and stared into my children’s eyes as tears filled my own. I had encountered many challenges. It was time to make a change. Drying my…
CarolinaTIP: A Promising Solution to the Teacher Shortage
By Nicole Skeen, University Induction Coordinator | UofSC College of Education When my husband and I found out we were expecting, we did everything in our power to prepare. We read books, attended…
Supporting Novice Teachers in the Time of COVID-19
by Angela Adams, Lead Coach, Carolina Teacher Induction Program Last June, my four-year-old asked me when Christmas would be here. I answered, “Six months.” “Six months is FOREVER!” was his…
Bridging the Gap with Support and Planning
by Madalyn Hazlett Dreher High School Mathematics Teacher At the end of my first year of teaching, I was asked to give one positive story that came from that school year. I could not come up with a…
Why I’m Still Here: Reflections on the Choice to Teach
by Alexis Deese-Smith 7th Grade English Language Arts Teacher at R.H. Fulmer Middle School “Remember that you chose to teach middle schoolers.” Gabe, one of my students from student teaching,…
Finding My Rhythm as a New Teacher
by Carson Coomes, Orchestra Director, Blythewood Middle School As a fourth grader, I remember being shuffled down to my school’s auditorium one morning for a performance from the fifth grade strings…