SCScene
BY DIANE VETO PARHAM PHOTOS BY MILTON MORRIS
Work that
matters
Williamsburg County teacher Quinn Ranahan introduces her middle-school students to skills and projects that spark an interest in computer science and coding.
THERE’S MORE THAN JUST ALGEBRA
and geometry going on in Quinn Teach For Ranahan’s middle-school classes. America marks Day after day, the 25-year-old five years in math teacher sets lofty goals for South Carolina her students. “Every day in my classroom, schools my expectations are for you to do the best you can, so you can go to college or have a career,” Ranahan tells her students at C.E. Murray Middle School in Greeleyville. “The opportunities are limitless, as long as you work hard and do your best every day.” When Ranahan moved to this small Williamsburg County community two years ago, it was because she wanted to make an impact on kids growing up in a rural area like the one she left in southern Arkansas. Now, having fulfilled her two-year commitment as a Teach For America corps member, she’s staying in South Carolina. She’s built a network of relationships with parents, fellow teachers and community members she says is essential for her students’ success. “I go to football games, and I see people in this community that I know care about my students as much as I do, if not more,” says Ranahan, now in her third year of teaching. “I’m where I need to be.” Finding teachers who believe in tapping the potential of every student, then placing them in high-need schools around the state—and hoping they’ll stay—is what Teach For America has been focused on in South Carolina for the past five years. GET MORE To learn more about TFA–South A national nonCarolina, visit southcarolina.teachforamerica.org. profit that recruits The organization is accepting applications from dynamic leaders to teach leaders interested in classroom teaching positions. and improve learnUpcoming deadlines to apply are Dec. 9, Jan. 27, 2017, ing opportunities and March 3, 2017. Application instructions are available for all students, TFA at teachforamerica.org/join-tfa/how‑to‑apply. launched in South To recommend a candidate for the corps, visit Carolina in 2011. teachforamerica.org/refer-a-friend. 22
That first year, TFA placed a corps of 30 new teachers in 18 schools in four S.C. counties. Today, in its sixth school year in this state, TFA has expanded its reach with a current corps of 100 teachers serving 45 schools in 11 counties. Every one of those counties has TFA alumni who have chosen to stay in S.C. schools, says Josh Bell, executive director of TFA–South Carolina. But too many others, he says, have been lured away by school districts in other parts of the country. So, in 2015, TFA–South Carolina created RiseSC to recruit new corps members with S.C. ties, hoping they’ll commit long-term to improving education in this state. “We’re seeing a growing number of people who have roots here, or are from a hometown here, or went to college here, who are three times more likely to stay in South Carolina beyond their two-year commitment,” Bell says. RiseSC’s strategies include collaborating with TFA’s national recruitment team to identify more high-quality candidates with S.C. connections, as well as focusing regional recruitment on S.C. college campuses and other promising prospects, such as military veterans, teaching assistants and previous TFA applicants who feel unfulfilled in their current careers, Bell says. It’s off to a good start. RiseSC’s initial goal was to attract 50 percent of incoming corps members with S.C. ties by 2020. Just one year in, TFA blew past that goal with 60 percent of its 2016 corps members having S.C. roots. TFA–South Carolina knows that 66 percent of its 240 alumni are still working as educators; even more are working in education-related fields. And they know stories of S.C. natives who, in keeping with RiseSC’s goals, have
SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 | SCLIVING.COOP