News

  • Jim Rex discusses school changes

    State education Superintendent Jim Rex met with local political figures, business leaders and education professionals Thursday at Genesis Education Center to discuss the challenges facing the public school system.

    August 15, 2008 | Read More

  • State ACT scores up 5th year in row

    Improved results still short of national average. South Carolina students posted improvements on the ACT college entrance exam for the fifth consecutive year, but those gains weren't enough to beat the national average.

    August 13, 2008 | Read More

  • Parents, students praise single-gender classes

    Perhaps it's no surprise, but students, parents and teachers involved with single-gender education in South Carolina believe overwhelmingly that it provides an excellent education for students, according to a recent survey.

    July 29, 2008 | Read More

  • Survey shows support for single-gender classes

    Students, parents and teachers alike agree that single-gender classes increase student confidence, class participation and the desire and ability to succeed, survey results released today by the state Department of Education indicate.

    July 24, 2008 | Read More

  • 'Minimally adequate' must receive an upgrade

    As the dog days of summer approach, some South Carolinians are assuming more than a lethargic attitude toward the education of the state's younger residents. They want more than a constitutional guarantee of "minimally adequate" education.

    July 15, 2008 | Read More

  • Drive seeks to alter S.C. constitution

    South Carolina's public education system has its share of problems. It ranks among the worst in the country by a number of measures, and the decrepit condition of its poor, rural schools along Interstate 95 led some to dub the area the "Corridor of Shame."

    July 14, 2008 | Read More

  • Editorial: Too much Rich isn't good for anyone

    A New York political activist, Rich has injected himself into South Carolina politics in a big way this year, funneling his own money and that of many friends into more than a dozen campaigns across the state. Most of his candidates lost (8 out of 15), but Rich is undaunted.

    July 12, 2008 | Read More

  • Why we need to amend the S.C. Constitution

    A state's constitution is a covenant between the government and the people. Since most of us haven’t read the South Carolina Constitution, we don't know what it says about education nor understand why the education clause needs to be amended. But if we want to move from the bottom of the educational rankings and have South Carolina students prepared to compete in a global economy, we need to make a change in our state constitution.

    July 6, 2008 | Read More

  • Get involved in politics to help schools, Rex advises educators

    It's been less than two weeks since state Education Superintendent Jim Rex won the battle for the state to reform its accountability laws, but he already is rallying education advocates to fight for much-needed changes to the state's decades-old school funding formula.

    June 19, 2008 | Read More

  • Guest editorial: A tribute to Senator Linda Short

    The South Carolina Legislative Manual includes member biographies; rules and committee lists; legislative data; and state, county and federal government information. The 89th edition for the year 2008, just as the fifteen editions before, includes information on Senator Linda Short.

    June 19, 2008 | Read More

  • Schools chief plans push to change state funding

    "'Together we can' is more than a slogan; it's a belief," Rex told educators in his annual "State of Education" speech at a weeklong leadership seminar sponsored by the state Association of School Administrators.

    June 18, 2008 | Read More

  • Good riddance to PACT

    State lawmakers have declared the PACT dead. The only question remaining is when they take it off life support.

    May 23, 2008 | Read More

  • Eliminating PACT keystone of year

    Parents, students and teachers received some welcome relief last week with the pending demise of the Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test, which is usually referred to by its acronym -- the PACT.

    May 22, 2008 | Read More

  • Explore teacher incentive pay

    Students who work hard to attain major academic improvements gain the enhanced futures that a good education brings. Teachers who work hard to facilitate such improvements gain the satisfaction of an important job well done.

    May 15, 2008 | Read More

  • Replace PACT with a new test

    Students in Aiken County are bearing down this morning to take the annual Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test - better known in the schools of South Carolina as PACT.

    May 14, 2008 | Read More

  • SC promotes public Montessori programs

    The nation's only statewide coordinator for Montessori public education says expanding the century-old teaching method in South Carolina could improve learning in a state with the country's worst high school graduation rate.

    May 5, 2008 | Read More

  • "Third world" schools unacceptable

    More political courage is needed by the state's 170 lawmakers if they are to fix the state's ailing public education system, state Superintendent Jim Rex told members of Columbia's Rotary Club Monday.

    April 30, 2008 | Read More

  • 'High quality' schools sought

    S.C. education advocates push for change in constitution. The folks who pushed for better public schools by bringing you mass rallies, a $6 million, 15-year lawsuit, and the "Corridor of Shame" documentary have opened up a new front.

    April 26, 2008 | Read More

  • Teachers can get loans to buy homes

    Many teachers don't make enough money to afford buying a home, but state officials hope a new $20 million initiative will help ease teachers' financial woes.

    April 23, 2008 | Read More

  • Fixing No Child Left Behind

    In the six years since the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented, a loud consensus of educators across the nation - and our state - has found major elements of the landmark federal education legislation cumbersome, counterproductive and downright aggravating.

    March 28, 2008 | Read More

  • Rex backs school choice

    School choice has been widely pushed by Rex, and he has created an Office of Public School Choice and an Office of Innovation.

    March 18, 2008 | Read More

  • Abandoning PACT test is overdue

    S.C. Superintendent of Education Jim Rex has focused on bipartisanship in making recommendations on reforms to the public system. He has a tough road, though, as the lone Democratic statewide office-holder facing a Republican-controlled Legislature.

    February 29, 2008 | Read More

  • Keep politics out state's accountability revisions

    I am a fiscal and religious conservative who almost always votes Republican. So I have been more than a little uncomfortable recently as a few of my fellow Republicans in the House of Representatives have tried to score political points over what should be a bipartisan effort to improve South Carolina's public schools through revision of our school accountability system.

    February 25, 2008 | Read More

  • The dreaded PACT might get a face-lift

    South Carolina parents, students and teachers have complained for years that the high-stakes standardized achievement tests the state uses create frustration because they monopolize a large segment of teaching time, and the results come don't arrive in a timely fashion.

    February 3, 2008 | Read More

  • Education reform bill would end PACT tests

    State Rep. Bob Walker will introduce legislation this week to overhaul the Education Accountability Act, and his plan includes eliminating the much-maligned Palmetto Achievement Challenge Tests.

    January 29, 2008 | Read More

  • Rex: S.C. schools need overhaul

    South Carolina's educational system needs an overhaul of everything from classroom instruction to state educational funding before it can prepare students to compete in a fast-growing, worldwide marketplace, state Superintendent Jim Rex said Thursday.

    January 25, 2008 | Read More

  • Praise for Jim Rex's Public School Choice Plan

    "School choice encourages parental involvement, a crucial asset for the long-term mission of improving our state's education system...the clear public yearning for more and better educational options re-confirms that school choice is an idea whose time has come."

    January 23, 2008 | Read More

  • School choice gains steam

    School choice encourages parental involvement, a crucial asset for the long-term mission of improving our state's education system.

    January 22, 2008 | Read More

  • Study shows single-gender classes on the rise

    Single-gender classrooms are becoming more prevalent in South Carolina, and according to a recently-released survey from the state Department of Education, students are pretty satisfied with the education they're getting in this type of setting.

    January 17, 2008 | Read More

  • Students excel in one-gender classrooms

    North Augusta Elementary School is midway through its second year of single-gender classes in fifth grade, and one of the girls summed up her feelings about the project succinctly as part of a statewide survey.

    January 16, 2008 | Read More

  • State must focus on improving education in our public schools

    For the past five years, legislators who believe that abandoning public schools in favor of private school vouchers is a dangerous idea have found themselves the target of slick, well-financed attack ad campaigns so misleading that they have been roundly denounced by Republicans and Democrats alike.

    January 14, 2008 | Read More

  • 'Choice schools' that are accountable, admit all: We've got those

    A LOT of jaws dropped this fall when Education Superintendent Jim Rex told Gov. Mark Sanford he'd "be willing to talk about" using public money to send kids to private schools if the private schools were held to the same accountability standards as public schools and required to admit all applicants, just like public schools.

    December 21, 2007 | Read More

  • Plan to increase curriculum choices long overdue

    Jim Rex is trying once again to kick-start the innovation process, with legislation to require every school district in the state to offer at least one new curriculum option at the elementary, the middle and the high school level within two years.

    December 20, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex choice plan about options, not transfers

    S.C. Superintendent of Education Jim Rex is back on the trail of a public school choice plan, but in 2008 he is determined the primary focus of his efforts won't get lost in a battle over transferring among districts.

    December 10, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex's positive 'bolt' for school choice

    Former high school English teacher, football coach and college president Jim Rex knows from his own classroom experience that good educators must also be good learners. Now, entering his second year as S.C. Education Superintendent, he sounds confident that he learned some valuable lessons during a failed attempt to get his 2007 public-school choice program passed into law.

    December 9, 2007 | Read More

  • Educators Weigh In On Public School Choice

    State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex is introducing a new plan to give parents more public school choices. Unlike last year's vetoed proposal, this one would not require school districts to open the options across district lines.

    December 7, 2007 | Read More

  • State schools chief urges fast pace for reform

    Rex wants PACT changes, more types of public schools. "We are doing way too many things still that don't work for way too many kids in our state," Rex told about 200 people at Clemson University's Strom Thurmond Institute.

    December 4, 2007 | Read More

  • State launches ads to recruit teachers

    The advertisements, state schools chief Jim Rex said, are a new recruiting strategy aimed at three audiences: high school students weighing career options, college students pursuing degrees in education and adults looking to change jobs.

    November 14, 2007 | Read More

  • 'Voices' raised against S.C. school vouchers

    A coalition of black educators, elected school trustees and ministers announced Thursday the formation of Voices For Public Education, a group pledging to rally fellow African-Americans behind the state School Boards Association's opposition to school vouchers.

    November 9, 2007 | Read More

  • School choice, political tug-of-war

    State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex plans to push for a school choice bill during the upcoming South Carolina legislative session. It will allow parents flexibility to choose which school their child should attend.

    November 6, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex reworks proposal

    Something unexpected happened to the State Education Department after the defeat of a bill that would have allowed students to apply to any public school in the state regardless of where they live.

    October 27, 2007 | Read More

  • Invest in early education

    Children who start school ready to learn have a far better chance of getting a good education than those who don't. Likewise, our state will have a far better chance of a prosperous future if we minimize the number of children who are ill prepared when they enter the first grade.

    October 27, 2007 | Read More

  • Single-gender education - more learning, fewer distractions

    Single-gender programs like the one at Guinyard are popping up all around the state. Recently, the State Department of Education hired David Chadwell to spearhead a single-gender initiative. Chadwell believes single-gender classes help children because they can specifically address the needs and differences of boys and girls.

    October 16, 2007 | Read More

  • Voucher Program Puts D.C. Kids at Risk, Study Says

    A voucher program designed to send low-income children in the District to better-performing private schools has allowed some students to take classes in unsuitable learning environments and from teachers without bachelor's degrees, according to a government report.

    October 11, 2007 | Read More

  • No Slack for S.C. Schools

    Public school detractors love to comb through S.C. standardized results to pull out factoids that "prove" S.C. public education to be mediocre. As a new study establishes, the state's testing rules make it easy for folks with an anti-public education agenda to do this.

    October 7, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex: State needs to make teaching jobs more enticing

    Since he began his duties as state superintendent of education nine months ago, Dr. Jim Rex has promoted the need for school reform, greater innovation, more public school choice, more rational accountability tests and more equitable funding for districts.

    September 28, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex to speak at chamber luncheon

    The Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce will host the Annual State of The City/County Luncheon at noon Wednesday at Darlington Country Club. S.C. Superintendent of Education Dr. Jim Rex is the keynote speaker.

    September 26, 2007 | Read More

  • Drop back in: Staying in school worth the work

    A Star Academy will be established in 16 more South Carolina school districts, including Anderson School District 5, with the help of a donation from the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation. The Star Academy program works with at-risk students to help turn South Carolina’s potential dropouts into high school graduates.

    September 19, 2007 | Read More

  • Vouchers lobby group abuses FOI requests

    The return to school from summer break is the busiest and most dynamic time of the year for students, parents, teachers and school administrators. It's an exciting and challenging transition, as all parties endeavor to ensure Palmetto State students return from their vacation equipped, acclimated and ready to focus on the most important aspect of our schools - becoming prepared for the future.

    September 2, 2007 | Read More

  • We need to unite around a shared education agenda

    Education Superintendent Jim Rex's early success, getting nearly every education group in the state to line up behind his public school choice plan, had the unfortunate effect of turning that small part of his agenda into his entire agenda, at least in Year One.

    August 28, 2007 | Read More

  • S.C. student testing system due for change

    Orangeburg County Councilwoman Janie Cooper and Orangeburg County Consolidated School District 3 board members Alice Pinkney and Minnie Skinner came out Tuesday evening to send a message to the S.C. superintendent of education during Jim Rex's town hall meeting in Orangeburg.

    August 26, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex's innovation agenda

    Jim Rex consistently stressed the need for innovation in public schools during his successful 2006 run to become state education superintendent. As his first full school year in that job begins, he's showing that his campaign theme wasn't merely election-year rhetoric.

    August 19, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex alters school choice plan

    State schools chief Jim Rex hopes to win legislative support in 2008 for public-school choice by eliminating a requirement that was a sticking point this year.

    August 15, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex rolls out education plans for coming year

    An educator for 29 years, Alice Graham knows what her students need to excel. And she and many other educators are concerned that giving state standardized tests like PACT at the end of the year is "sometimes a little bit too late."

    August 15, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex encourages educators in Florence School District 4

    State Superintendent of Education Dr. Jim Rex encouraged faculty and staff in Florence School District 4 to push for educational reform and to strive to be the best educator for their students during the district's back-to-school convocation today.

    August 15, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex Answers All of Your Questions

    News19 asked you for questions to ask the State Superintendent of Education, Jim Rex. Education Reporter Sharie Harvin brought the questions from the people to the superintendent. The transcript for the interview is printed here in its entirety.

    August 10, 2007 | Read More

  • Open enrollment vote tests 'choice' backers' sincerity

    Even though he had been signaling his objections for some time, it still was jarring to see Gov. Mark Sanford actually veto a bill that would require every school district to provide single-gender or other "choice options" next year and to enroll children from other districts in three years.

    June 28, 2007 | Read More

  • MUSC Shaken Baby Syndrome Program Preempts State Law

    Sue Rex, State Superintendent of Education's Jim Rex's wife, supported Horinbein's efforts from the beginning, and facilitated the involvement of Sen. Gregg Ryberg (R-Aiken). Ryberg was instrumental in getting legislation to the statehouse.

    June 26, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex says his reform ideas have momentum

    State schools chief Jim Rex told district-level colleagues today he has hired his first key adviser to work in what he described as a "first-in-the-nation" office of public school choice and innovation.

    June 20, 2007 | Read More

  • Keep voting vouchers down: Everybody wins with strong public schools

    An attempt to further frustrate improvements in public schools in South Carolina was defeated in the Senate last week. The addition of private school vouchers to a bill allowing open enrollment within the public school system was dismissed nearly two-to-one, according to published reports. Debate continues on the original proposal, despite this latest pass at - and latest failure of - supporting private education with public money.

    June 3, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex to recruit for 4 Lowcountry schools

    State Education Superintendent Jim Rex has decided to get personally involved in recruiting teachers to 16 public schools, including four in Charleston County, that faced the possibility of state takeover earlier this year because of their lack of academic progress.

    June 2, 2007 | Read More

  • Smarter testing for S.C. students

    If you're a teacher, a student or a parent with a child in South Carolina's public schools, the past few weeks of your life have been consumed by that demanding end-of-the-school-year tradition known as PACT. Grade after grade, subject after subject, test after test, what started out as a worthwhile goal has become a grueling gauntlet that takes too much time and too many resources away from teaching and learning in South Carolina's classrooms.

    May 20, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex ready to tackle testing

    The state Department of Education will propose solutions to South Carolina's testing woes within the coming months, state Superintendent Jim Rex said Tuesday.

    April 24, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex touts his education reform plan

    State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex said he thinks the controversial open-enrollment portion of his public school choice plan won't lead to increasingly segregated schools but instead will provide quality educational options in schools closer to parents' homes.

    April 12, 2007 | Read More

  • Education chief's open enrollment plan passes

    After voting down several attempts to add provisions for vouchers or tax credits to attend private schools, the House on Thursday passed state Education Superintendent Jim Rex's open enrollment plan 69-53.

    March 30, 2007 | Read More

  • Embrace Choice

    Jim Rex plan is a logical follow-on to last year's school property tax reform

    March 5, 2007 | Read More

  • Tonight's Town Meeting Postponed.

    State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex's town hall meeting in Florence tonight (March 1) has been canceled because of concerns about bad weather.

    March 2, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex to go on ETV to gather input

    Jim Rex brings his “town hall” tour to Columbia on Wednesday, looking to tap into the thoughts and ideas of ETV’s audience about how to address challenges facing the state’s public schools.

    February 23, 2007 | Read More

  • Town Hall Meetings Schedule

    State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex has scheduled eight public Town Hall meetings across South Carolina to answer questions on and receive comments about his comprehensive public school reform plan for South Carolina.

    February 20, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex Touts Own School Choice Plan At Luncheon

    South Carolina Superintendent of Education Dr. Jim Rex agrees on one thing with Gov. Mark Sanford: parents deserve to have greater choices of where to send their children to school. They just don't agree on how to go about doing that.

    February 20, 2007 | Read More

  • Rex assessing plan to reshape education

    South Carolina's newly elected superintendent of education is still in a honeymoon stage assessing a prescription to revitalize the state's education. The diagnosis is still out, but residents could get a chance to examine his plan firsthand.

    February 16, 2007 | Read More

  • 5 steps to better schools

    A decade from now, educators may look back at the decisions made about South Carolina’s schools this year as the smartest thing the state ever did. Or not.

    February 14, 2007 | Read More

  • Sink or Swim or Save?

    Our choice should be to fix public schools, not abandon them.
    The Anderson Independent is intrigued with the first proposal offered by newly elected Superintendent of Education Jim Rex. That first proposal is regarding school choice, an option to which the Independent's editors have never objected.

    February 12, 2007 | Read More

  • State Recount Again Confirms Rex Victory

    A state-mandated recount completed late Thursday, again affirmed the election of Jim Rex as State Superintendent of Education. Rex expressed gratitude to the many South Carolinians who placed their confidence in him.

    November 15, 2006 | Read More

  • Ballot Count Affirms Jim Rex Victory

    Final returns from provisional vote tallies confirmed Rex lead in statewide State Superintendent of Education ballot count. After final returns were reported at the county level, Rex reiterated declaration of victory.

    November 10, 2006 | Read More

  • The State endorses Jim Rex for Education

    "Rex supports real reforms to better educate all kids", according to The State newspaper in its endorsement of Dr. Rex for State Superintendent of Education. "His promise is 'to make public education more effective, not to make private education more affordable,' and we can’t think of a better goal for our public education superintendent."

    October 29, 2006 | Read More

  • The Superintendent debate revolves around dangerous obsession

    Warthen compares Jim Rex's 30 years of experience in education, from K-12 through higher education, both public and private with Floyd's lack of "relevant experience" noting that "she has never improved a school system, or even one school, or one classroom....or even publicly exhibited any interest in school reform of any kind before she decided to run for this statewide office."

    October 29, 2006 | Read More

  • Watch Monday's ETV debate

    ETV news and public affairs producer Andrew Gobeil and The State's Brad Warthen interviewed Jim and Karen on Monday night.

    October 24, 2006 | Read More

  • TONIGHT'S DEBATE

    The education superintendent race is the focus of tonight's ETV/The State newspaper debate.

    October 23, 2006 | Read More

  • Rex gives fiscal plan for state schools

    Jim Rex unveiled a three-point fiscal accountability program to guarantee that the most money possible would go to the classroom. He also pointed out the contradiction between Karen Floyd's campaign rhetoric on fiscal responsibility and her record on Spartanburg County Council of raising property taxes twice and supporting sales tax increases previously defeated by Spartanburg voters.

    October 20, 2006 | Read More

  • Rex Releases School Crime Proposals

    Richland County Sheriff Endorses Rex, supports Rex’s 5-point plan for continued zero-tolerance, expanding resource officers, toll-free hotline, and alternative settings for disruptive students

    October 11, 2006 | Read More

  • Floyd Finally Faces Rex

    After three cancellations for "scheduling conflicts," Karen Floyd finally showed up for a Myrtle Beach Hospitality Association forum.

    October 4, 2006 | Read More

  • Brad Warthen meets Jim Rex

    Wednesday, 11 a.m. -- Finally, we meet Jim Rex. About time, too, with less than six weeks to go before he faces Karen Floyd. And so it is that we are able to answer the question that so many have asked since we last looked in on the contest to replace Inez Tenenbaum: Is there more to Jim Rex than not being the official PPIC candidate?

    September 29, 2006 | Read More

  • Karen Floyd's Debate Duck: Day 8

    Floyd's Record on Discipline, Accountability Paper Thin Stokes: "What definition of 'discipline' includes letting convicted killers out early?"

    September 29, 2006 | Read More

  • Debate Doesn't Happen

    A Claflin University official says that Republican Superintendent of Education candidate Karen Floyd pulled out of a debate scheduled for Monday night even though her campaign was allowed to choose the date.

    September 26, 2006 | Read More

  • Work-Force Training Must Become Top Priority

    The rise of economic superpowers India and China, coupled with life-changing technology, has turned the world upside down, and challenged the assumption that American economic prowess will forever rule.

    September 26, 2006 | Read More

  • Vouchers A Clear Difference

    Political observers have predicted this year’s campaign for state superintendent of education will center on the issue of diverting taxpayer dollars to private education from our public schools. It should. There is no issue that better illustrates the difference between my opponent and me.

    September 23, 2006 | Read More

  • Floyd Won’t Debate Here

    Karen Floyd, the Republican candidate for state superintendent of education, has declined an invitation to participate in a debate Monday at Claflin University.

    September 23, 2006 | Read More

  • Talent, Experience

    One candidate comes with 30 years of experience in education, including everything from football coach to college president, while the other has no professional educational experience and sticks closely to the current party line.

    September 20, 2006 | Read More

  • Better qualified

    Your child's future depends on his or her education -- maybe not so much when we were young and there were unskilled jobs that paid plenty. Now the nurses' aide, the carpenter, etc., all need at least a technical or community college education.

    September 19, 2006 | Read More

  • School Choice Separates Education Candidates

    The race for state superintendent of education could hinge on one crucial issue: school choice. Republican candidate Karen Floyd and Democratic nominee Jim Rex agree that dramatic steps are needed to pull up the state's sagging SAT scores and graduation rate, and to improve discipline. But they part company when it comes to choice.

    September 18, 2006 | Read More

  • Floyd, Rex Debate For First Time

    State Education Superintendent candidates Karen Floyd and Jim Rex met Thursday in their first major debate since their primary victories, quickly and politely emphasizing their divergent backgrounds and differing solutions for South Carolina's educational problems.

    September 15, 2006 | Read More

  • Politics Rocks Endorsement

    Just like in sports, bigtime programs or bigtime head coaching jobs that come open, athletic directors or owners hire experienced, successful, and proven leaders in their respective sport.

    August 30, 2006 | Read More