TheSunNews.com: Education

As high school ends, graduates look to college

Sat, 26 May 2012 14:01 EDT

Caroline Moore will graduate from high school next week, and like so many of her fellow seniors in Horry and Georgetown counties, she is looking forward to her next adventure – college.

Moore, a student at Horry County Schools’ Scholars Academy and a National Merit Scholar, will attend the University of Georgia in the fall on a Foundation Fellowship, the university’s top academic scholarship. It not only will cover her four-year tuition, but the honor comes with various travel opportunities, including a month of study at Oxford University her freshman year.

While Moore’s academic achievement has paved her path, many graduates – and their parents – struggle over the cost of post-secondary education. School officials say early career planning helps avoid many pitfalls and that a range of funding options are available to those who do their homework.

Education notebook | Small hands learn from helping others in community

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:37 EDT

Some of Horry County’s youngest students have been doing their part to help others in their community.

Arleen Wallace, who works in early childhood special education at South Conway High School, said the Small Helping Hands team, made up of preschool and child development classes, partnered with Samaritan House, a food and clothing bank and a ministry of the Cherry Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Conway. She said Samaritan House serves more than 2,000 people each month, supplying food, clothing and other items to people in need.

Wallace said this is the second year for the partnership, and the team’s focus has been on donating funds and items for children who are infants through 3 years old. She said the team has raised more than $1,100 and donated 1,446 clothing and food items.

Myrtle Beach PTO treasurer arrested after funds missing

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:03 EDT

The police report incorrectly identified the co-treasurer. The name has been corrected in this version of the story.

The treasurer of a Myrtle Beach parent-teacher organization was arrested last week on charges she took money from the PTO’s account, according to a report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

Julie Allen Herndon, 35, was charged May 15 at the police department with breach of trust with the value greater than $10,000, the report said. She was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.

School project supports North Myrtle Beach dunes

Mon, 21 May 2012 06:27 EDT

Environmental science majors from the Academy for the Arts, Science and Technology have put their education into action.

The class took a real hands-on approach Friday, repairing damage to a dune near the wind turbine located at Ocean Drive and Main Street, across from the Ocean Drive Pavilion Amusement Park. Armed with 400 plants, transported to the site in their personal vehicles, students began digging and planting vegetation that hopefully will take root and hold the dune in place.

Their work reflects not only a commitment to a natural resource critical to protection of the coastline, but also gives the students a chance for experience that could guide their future career paths.

USC leaders get lesson on Hobcaw Barony

Fri, 18 May 2012 20:04 EDT

A contingent from the University of South Carolina rolled into Georgetown County this week to explore past and present at Hobcaw Barony, a stop on the inaugural Carolina Nexus Tour.

The 40 participants - USC faculty, staff and a few students, most of them relatively new to the university – were nominated for the tour, which was designed to introduce them to what South Carolina has to offer, said Les Sternberg, special adviser to the provost. Participants visited more than a dozen sites over a week, including Spartanburg-based Milliken and Co., Sumter’s Shaw Air Force Base, Charleston’s Fort Sumter National Monument and a North Mullins elementary school.

“We want to help the people at USC, particularly those who are new, to get to know South Carolina, its cultures, its economics, and also to familiarize them with its challenges and opportunities,” said Sternberg, who said tour members came from all over campus, including two vice presidents, three deans and two student government leaders.

A generation hobbled by college debt

Sat, 12 May 2012 18:07 EDT

Kelsey Griffith graduates on Sunday from Ohio Northern University. To start paying off her $120,000 in student debt, she is already working two restaurant jobs and will soon give up her apartment here to live with her parents. Her mother, who co-signed on the loans, is taking out a life insurance policy on her daughter.

“If anything ever happened, God forbid, that is my debt also,” said Griffith's mother, Marlene Griffith.

Griffith, 23, wouldn't seem a perfect financial fit for a college that costs nearly $50,000 a year. Her father, a paramedic, and mother, a preschool teacher, have modest incomes, and she has four sisters. But when she visited Ohio Northern, she was won over by faculty and admissions staff members who urge students to pursue their dreams rather than obsess on the sticker price.

Museum takes shot at combining art, mini golf

Fri, 11 May 2012 22:54 EDT

The Strand’s newest mini golf course will allow players to tackle nine holes while learning to tell a Munch from a Monet.

Art for Fun Mini Golf was designed as part of the “I Heart Art” program, a yearlong celebration of the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum’s 15th anniversary. The course will be up and running June 1 and will allow locals and visitors a chance to embrace the arts and culture while enjoying a fun activity for the whole family.

Lineta Pritchard is co-chair of “I Heart Art” with Denise Apple, and she came up with the mini golf idea after reading a Wall Street Journal article about Midwest museums that funded various artists to design courses.

Education notebook | Conway students learn how to help others

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:43 EDT

Service learning plays a big part in the activities at South Conway Elementary School, the winner of last year’s superintendent’s service learning award. For the second year, each grade level has developed its own service learning project, which allows students to participate, raise money and awareness, and educate others, said teacher Julie Higgs.

Higgs said projects have ranged from helping military causes to homeless shelters and farmers. Last year, Higgs’ team members – ARK, or Animals Rescued by Kids - adopted Sunshine Animal Haven, a nonprofit animal rescue in northwest Horry County. Tranquility Farm, a horse rescue and rehabilitation farm, was added to their project list this year. She said the projects tie into the curriculum. Representatives from each place have visited the school to talk about the needs of animals.

On May 4, 97 of the students were able to see where their efforts were going as they visited Tranquility Farm. Six stations were set up to teach them about grooming and caring for horses and how to be safe in the process.

North Myrtle Beach community members talk of school vision

Tue, 08 May 2012 21:28 EDT

About 30 members of the North Myrtle Beach community put their heads together Tuesday night to brainstorm ideas for a new performance vision for their school attendance area.

Parents, pastors, community leaders and school supporters were invited to the meeting by the advisory board for the North Myrtle Beach cluster of schools. The board wants to adopt a plan, called the Chief Initiative, which could be implemented from pre-kindergarten through high school to best prepare students for life after graduation.

“We want to set ourselves apart, to find our own niche,” said Mary Gail Stanaland, board chair.

Horry-Georgetown Technical College confers degrees on spring graduates

Mon, 07 May 2012 22:54 EDT

Potty training her son was not the easiest process, but when he finally got the message, Janine Constable not only was relieved, but inspired by her son’s reaction to his success.

“He was so happy that he did it,” Constable said, “Watching him, I said I want to feel that same sense of accomplishment, and I enrolled [at Horry-Georgetown Technical College] that night.”

Constable was certainly up to the challenge, having made a snap decision earlier to move to Myrtle Beach from her hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. Within hours, she and her bags were flying as far as possible on the $120 in her pocket – to Myrtle Beach and a new life.

‘Never give up,’ Clyburn tells 975 new CCU graduates

Sat, 05 May 2012 18:55 EDT

Three of the 975 students who took part Saturday in Coastal Carolina University’s spring commencement waited in a tunnel, near the front of the procession, before it stepped from the Adkins Fieldhouse onto the grass at Brooks Stadium.

“We don’t have our grades yet,” joked John Britton of Aynor. “We don’t know if we’re really graduating.”

Standing beside him, Nikki Brown of Greenville remarked on how strange if will feel “with no class on Monday.” She knew final grades get posted at 10 a.m. that day, though.

Coastal Carolina Board of Trustees approves motion regarding future of athletics; DeCenzo talks possible conference shift

Sat, 05 May 2012 08:40 EDT

Coastal Carolina University’s Board of Trustees unanimously passed a motion Friday granting CCU President David DeCenzo authority to take all actions necessary regarding a potential change in conference affiliation for the Chanticleers -- should such an opportunity arise.

DeCenzo said he hopes no one reads anything into this move other than it’s the school’s due diligence to say, “What if?” If an invitation is extended to join another conference, this motion gives DeCenzo the opportunity to respond quickly, as conferences won’t wait several months for an answer, he added.

“Timing is everything on this,” he said. “This really is an element that gives the university the flexibility and the agility to act if something happens.”

More charged as Horry schools, law enforcement get tough on bomb threats

Fri, 04 May 2012 19:42 EDT

Yet another bomb threat at an Horry County school occurred as school and law enforcement officials addressed the subject at a press conference Friday morning at Carolina Forest High School.

Interim Chief Saundra Rhodes of the Horry County Police Department said Black Water Middle School was experiencing a threat, following one that occurred there on Thursday. Rhodes said four juveniles have been charged with conveying false information in Thursday’s event, and that a juvenile was taken into custody Friday.

Thursday’s bomb threat was the 17th at an Horry County School this year that required a building evacuation. Teal Britton, HCS spokeswoman, said the person held in Friday’s incident was found almost immediately, and the school did not evacuate.

Education notebook | Horry County students run for PASS

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:25 EDT

Myrtle Beach Intermediate School students took to the track Friday morning at Doug Shaw Stadium for a Boosterthon Marathon Fun Run. Students completed a two-mile marathon to boost their brains for Tuesday, when testing begins for the Palmetto Assessment of State Standards, or PASS, for all Horry County Schools students in grades three through eight.

“We are sharing our brain research with our parents about the benefits of exercise to boost student achievement and what movement does to cognitive ability,” said Principal Dana Penick. “They’ve been working for the last eight days on boosting their brain power, changing their mindset and doing their very best with their test-taking skills to get ready for PASS.”

Students will take the PASS test for English language arts Tuesday, followed by the math portion on Wednesday. Students in grades three, five, six and eight will test in either science or social studies on Thursday, and Friday will be social studies testing for grades four and seven. Make-up testing will be held the following week.

Horry County library system feels economic crunch

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:17 EDT

The new Horry County Memorial Library in Carolina Forest was finished in December, but doors still aren’t opened to residents.

It’s just one of the challenges Horry County’s library system has faced over the past year, but the hope is the tide will soon shift.

During the County Council’s spring budget retreat late last month, the governing body passed first reading of a $130 million budget that included roughly $100,000 for two full-time employees and one part-time employee for the new Carolina Forest library.

Horry County Schools taps its new Teacher of the Year

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:51 EDT

Creating family among her students and providing authentic learning experiences are just two of the qualities that led to Anna Locke’s selection Tuesday night as the 2012-13 Horry County Schools Teacher of the Year.

Locke, a third-grade teacher at Socastee Elementary School, was chosen from five finalists who were in the running for the county’s top educator honor. The other finalists were Gretchen Holzberger, Carolina Forest High School; Mary Brown, Conway Middle School; Sandie Merriam, North Myrtle Beach Middle School; and Michelle Arnold, Seaside Elementary School.

“I am really here tonight for one reason,” Locke told the crowd of educators at the Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort and Spa. “I fell in love with a group of children a long, long time ago.”

Horry County Schools trying to simplify registration

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:53 EDT

Registration is already in full swing at some Horry County schools, and while the process is not uniform across attendance areas, the school district is taking steps to simplify information gathering as much as possible.

Parents say a big frustration is filling out multiple forms and having to repeat the same information. The process gets old quickly, especially when there is more than one child in the family attending school.

Some of that aggravation will soon be eliminated by an online registration system, said Charles Hucks, HCS executive director of technology. The district is fielding proposals from companies that provide these types of solutions, and a new provider should be selected in a matter of weeks, he said.

Green Sea Floyds school evacuates after bomb threat

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:55 EDT

Students were evacuated from Green Sea Floyds Middle and High School Friday after a bomb threat was found in a girls bathroom, according to Horry County Schools officials.

This is the fourth bomb threat at an Horry County high school this week and the 16th this year.

Socastee High School had one Tuesday, and Carolina Forest High School had threats Wednesday and Thursday. Six people have been held by police so far in the first incident at Carolina Forest.

Horry County Schools faces fourth bomb threat of week

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:07 EDT

Horry County Schools logged its fourth bomb threat of the week on Friday, the 16th in a string of threats this year, causing extreme frustration over the waste of school and police resources and a dilemma of what can be done to stop the trend.

Friday’s incident resulted in a two-hour evacuation of Green Sea Floyds Middle and High School after a bomb threat was found in a girls’ bathroom. Bomb threats also were found at Socastee High School Tuesday and at Carolina Forest High School Wednesday and Thursday. Six people, including four juveniles, have been charged in connection with the Wednesday incident.

“I think everyone’s looking for an answer of why they’re doing it and how to stop them,” said Teal Britton, school district spokeswoman.

Six arrested after bomb threat at Carolina Forest High School

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:51 EDT

Students at Carolina Forest High School are back in class after a bomb threat forced an evacuation of the school Wednesday morning, according to Teal Britton, Horry County Schools spokeswoman.

Horry County police said six people have been arrested. Four were juveniles who have been transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia. Two are adults who were taken to J. Reuben Long Detention Center, police said.

Lorenzo Terrell Green and Jason William Taylor, both 18 and from Conway, appeared before a judge Thursday. Both were charged with accessory before a felony and bond was set at $2,500. Green and Taylor remain in custody at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Georgetown library wins teen video contest

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:29 EDT

The Georgetown County Public Library won the Collaborative Summer Library Program’s second annual 2012 Teen Video Challenge for the state, according to a news release from the S.C. State Library. The contest is a national competition for teens to get involved with reading and their public library's summer reading program.

The library’s video, “Night of the Living Library,” followed the contest slogan, “Own the Night.” Each participating state selected one winning video to be named the official state winner for 2012. Twenty-three states and more than 100 teens participated. Each winner will receive $275, and the associated public library will receive $100 plus a $50 gift certificate from Highsmith.

To view all of the winning videos, go to www.cslpreads.org, where information on next year’s contest will be posted by early fall. The winning videos can be used by all teens and all public libraries to promote summer reading nationwide.

Horry schools, police join forces to discourage bomb threats

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:51 EDT

Horry County school and police officials have met for a second time to develop public service messages they hope will deter more bomb threats, such as the one that disrupted classes at Socastee High School on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday’s bomb threat was the 13th area police have responded to this year, 10 of them at schools in the county and three within the city of Myrtle Beach, police officials said.

The group is developing messages aimed at reaching parents and adolescents driving home the consequences of making such threats, said Teal Britton, Horry County Schools spokeswoman.

Horry school board considers Scholars building costs

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 21:11 EDT

Cost was a big concern of some members of the Horry County school board, which was presented with a conceptual design for the Scholars Academy’s new building at their meeting Monday night.

The board approved a new facility Jan. 23 as part of the district’s 2011-12 Facility Plan. Scholars Academy students are advanced high school students who attend their classes on the Coastal Carolina University campus and can graduate with a high school diploma and up to two years of college course credits.

The new building, which would be one story with high ceilings, will be located on about 2 acres of leased land at CCU. The contemporary design was presented by Steve Usry of UWPD Architecture and includes flexible walls inside and glass walls around the outside. Usry said the design was a work in progress between Horry County Schools, CCU, teachers, students and the city of Conway, in which the property sits.

Lawmakers say TERI program no longer viable

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:57 EDT

The TERI program is likely dead.

What started out as an incentive to persuade quality teachers to stay in the classroom has ballooned into a symbol of government waste and greed.

Since its inception in 2000, the TERI program has been the target of at least a dozen bills to kill it and one lawsuit that went all the way to the state Supreme Court.

Education notebook | Charter high school approved to open in 2013

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:53 EDT

A new charter high school has been given the go-ahead to open from the S.C. Public Charter School District in Columbia.

Organizers of Coastal Leadership Academy received unanimous approval by that district’s board at its hearing Thursday, according to Superintendent Wayne Brazell. With the final OK behind them, organizers now have the next year to put plans in place for opening in August 2013.

CLA will provide a charter high school option for students who attend other area charter schools, of which the highest grade level available is grade eight. The school will use project-based learning, where students will be given real-world projects and problems - all based on S.C. standards - on which they would do research and formulate solutions.

Distracted drivers often kill others in simulation

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:52 EDT

CONWAY It’s not unusual for Joseph Jordan to go home each day having witnessed numerous pedestrian and driver deaths.

Jordan was one of two operators of the Arrive Alive distracted and drunken simulator at Miller-Motte Technical College in Conway Thursday. He travels the country outfitting people with goggles that propel drivers in a real car mounted on pods into a virtual world where they can see what texting and driving or drinking and driving can do to their attention.

It was the second year the school has hosted the simulator. This year, it brought in high school students from Horry and Marion counties to try out their skills. AAA of Myrtle Beach was on hand with literature, and students who killed a virtual person could then join others doing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation on other simulators to the tune of “Staying Alive.”

Out-of-state tuition increase approved at HGTC

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 07:52 EDT

CONWAY The Horry-Georgetown Technical College Area Commission unanimously approved a tuition increase of $300, or 5 percent, for out-of-state students at a meeting Thursday night.

Before voting, Commission members asked how the increased tuition compares with that charged at Miller-Motte Technical College and if some of HGTC’s out-of-state students might try to gain S.C. residency to avoid the increase.

HGTC President Neyle Wilson said that as far as he knows, the tuition at Miller-Motte is significantly higher than the increased HGTC out-of-state tuition. HGTC’s Greg Thompson said that people can gain immediate S.C. residency status only if they get a fulltime job in the state.

Loris schools rebound after buses vandalized

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:39 EDT

Horry County Schools’ bus transportation is back on schedule in the Loris area after vandals damaged more than half of the area’s fleet Wednesday night.

Teal Britton, HCS spokeswoman, said more than 40 buses were on a lot located at Loris High School when the vandalism occurred, including state buses, district and activity buses. She said more than half suffered random damage from spray painting, slashed tires and busted glass. But district officials said transportation was on schedule by Thursday afternoon.

In addition to the bus damage, Britton said two individuals also entered the building and discharged fire extinguishers in a classroom. She said the area was cleaned, and no damage was done.

Out-of-state tuition likely to rise at HGTC

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 15:33 EDT

CONWAY The board of Horry-Georgetown Technical College is going to be asked Thursday evening to approve a 5 percent, or $300 increase for tuition to out-of-state students, said Harold Hawley, HGTC vice president of business affairs.

There is no current discussion about increasing in-state tuition, although HGTC Senior Vice President Marilyn Fore said the college is facing a situation of costs increasing faster than enrollment.

She and Hawley said HGTC administrators are reviewing a number of ways costs possibly could be raised for in-state students, but no decisions have been made and no recommendations are currently in the pipeline.

Proposed charter high school seeks final state OK this week

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:02 EDT

Organizers behind Coastal Leadership Academy are seeking final approval this week from the S.C. Public Charter School District for a proposed charter high school, which they hope to open in the area in fall 2013.

Last year, the CLA committee submitted its first charter school application, but it was denied in May by the state’s Charter School Advisory Committee, which determines whether an application is in compliance with charter school law. Melinda Tavernier, CLA committee chair, said the advisory panel commended their second application, approving it March 27, and the last hurdle is to be approved for sponsorship by the public charter school district at a hearing on Thursday.

Wayne Brazell, superintendent of the S.C. Public Charter School District, said he does not expect major problems with the application, based on the OK from the advisory panel, but it is not approved until the school’s hearing. He said the hearing will be held at 1 p.m. at the Public Charter School District office in Columbia and is open to the public.