Smarter Learning Group

02/07/2024

08/15/2023

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate at this event with The Riley Institute’s South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered fellowship program!

03/22/2023

A People's Movement,"" the story of the crafting and passage of Governor Dick Riley's 1984 South Carolina Education Improvement Act, is now available for purchase on Barnes and Noble's website.

I have enjoyed reading this book and hope you do too!

Shares lessons and strategies from one of the nati

03/16/2023

Recently, I had the chance to listen to Dr. Anthony Burrow on the Hidden Brain podcast, Happiness 2.0: Cultivating Your Purpose. It was a fascinating interview about purpose as something which must be continually cultivated throughout all stages of life.

Dr. Burrow told a story from his childhood that deeply resonated with me as I think about the potential for expanded learning opportunities to help kids develop their sense of purpose. Growing up, he was involved in the Iowa 4-H Foundation and when he was 9 years old, he had the chance to present about different soil types for an audience of interested adults. He says that "teaching adults... was a profound experience" and views his time with 4-H as formative in cultivating his own life purpose.

Having a sense of purpose can be a buffer against the challenges we all face at various stages of life. Purpose can also boost our health and longevity. In

03/06/2023

So proud to support and to serve on the national advisory board for Attendance Works - an organization that is focused on helping us solve the problem of chronic absenteeism.

Click to read more about how Attendance Works and districts across the country are addressing high rates of absenteeism with home visits, robust data reporting, new class offerings, and more.

By some estimates, chronic absenteeism doubled during the pandemic. Now, about halfway through the most "normal" school year since 2020, the situation hasn't improved in many places.

02/24/2023

So great to spend the week with the second cohort of SCALE (South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered) Fellows at the The Riley Institute at Furman University. What an incredibly impressive group of leaders who are working to expand learning opportunities across the state of South Carolina!

Read more about the SCALE fellowship program: https://www.furman.edu/riley/public-education/initiatives/south-carolina-afterschool-leaders-empowered/

02/16/2023

📢We want to hear from you!!📢
Help us strengthen our network by connecting communities and partners through sharing and highlighting successful models and strategies in our What's Working XChange (WWX) 2023!

MORE INFO➡️ http://ow.ly/wi0p50MUITm
SUBMISSION FORM➡️ http://ow.ly/Vmqi50MUITn

02/09/2023

It was such a joy to be with The Riley Institute at Furman University last week for the launch of a new book, "A People's Movement," authored by friend and long-time business partner, William Saffold. The book describes how Governor Richard Riley led a grassroots, bipartisan movement to transform public education in the state of South Carolina. It's a timely, inspiring, and relevant story for anyone who wants to advance educational opportunities on a big scale.

Read more:
https://www.furman.edu/riley/news/riley-institute-to-launch-new-book-about-passage-of-groundbreaking-1984-south-carolina-education-improvement-act/?fbclid=IwAR1UzlrtexmyEQzJr83SVxKdeZBBAZqdveHlLif948MMGi8PVsg1nddM1Zg

01/23/2023

Our colleague, Bob Saffold, recently authored the book, "A People’s Movement: How a team of state and local leaders mobilized the grassroots, transformed public education, and lived to tell the tale—and how you can, too.” I am so proud to have worked alongside Bob throughout my career and am excited to read this book when The Riley Institute at Furman launches it later this month.

Learn more about the book:

“A People’s Movement” shares relevant lessons from one of the nation’s most ambitious state-level legislative reform initiatives.

01/21/2023

I enjoyed watching this section on the Today Show and learning about the work that Barbershop Books is doing to inspire Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun across the country. Check it out to learn more about this innovative program!

Watch TODAY excerpt 'Why this barbershop is offering books to young patrons' on NBC.com

01/11/2023

Ebony, a member of the 2015 cohort of White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows, wrote a wonderful op-ed for NJ.com about the necessity of proper mental health first aid training for youth development professionals in Out-of-School programs. Since 2011, more than 165 leaders from all 50 states have participated in the fellowship program. I am always inspired when I hear about the important work of our fellows throughout the country.

https://www-nj-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.nj.com/opinion/2022/12/young-people-need-mental-health-services-outside-of-school-opinion.html?outputType=amp

The United Way is calling on foundations and the government to invest in more public-private partnerships to address this critical need.

11/18/2022

I am so proud of the inaugural cohort of The Riley Institute's SCALE (South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered) Fellowship program. It was great to be together in Columbia this week to celebrate the commencement of their work to ensure that every kid in SC has access to high-quality afterschool and summer learning opportunities.