Information for Education Professionals

Personal Pathways to Success is an enormous undertaking in over 85 school districts serving over 1,000 schools.

Actions for each district include:

• Re-organize curriculum for career exploration around career clusters
• Hire teachers qualified to teach career cluster elective courses
• Hire guidance counselors with state funding
• Prepare 8th graders for completion of individual graduation plans (IGP's) with parents or parental designees
• Engage local businesses to provide extracurricular learning opportunities for students (via the REC's)
• Provide students with courses inspired by the sixteen(16) clusters of study model developed by the U.S. Department of Education
• Each district offers a minimum of three (3) clusters.

Role of Educators:

• Educators play a crucial role in the success of South Carolina's economy by preparing and influencing the state's future workforce and leaders.
• Educators at all grade levels, K-16, have additional resources through Personal Pathways to Success to help all South Carolina students develop their abilities, achieve their aspirations, as well as earn higher education credit while still in high school.
• Educators and parents must have regular interaction to ensure students receive the guidance and resources they need to develop the knowledge, skills and character traits necessary to succeed in the workplace.
• Educators improve skills and abilities by developing and teaching coursework based on the sixteen (16) national clusters of study.
• Students understand real-world applications for skills learned in the classroom; they are more engaged through a cluster-based curriculum which makes an educators job more rewarding.
• Educators must implement Personal Pathways to Success programs because they are mandated by the state.
• The General Assembly has provided the local school districts with funding and additional school personnel to implement the program.
• South Carolina educators utilizing key components of the Personal Pathways to Success initiative are on the cutting edge of national education trends.

• Currently, South Carolina has more certified career development facilitators than any other state.  More than 500 facilitators and counselors have earned their Global Development Facilitators' Certificate.

Individual Graduation Plans (IGPs) & Clusters of Study

During the 8th grade, students in South Carolina begin the process of answering this question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  Prior to choosing a field of interest, students complete career exploration and assessment activities.  Eighth graders choose a field of study or a profession from the sixteen career clusters and develop a plan to guide their high school coursework.  Each career cluster is grouped by profession.  For example, a student interested in becoming a police officer would select the "Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security" cluster.

• Clusters of study are flexible if students interests change
• Clusters focus students on their future goals and how to achieve them
• Clusters often mirror the industry of the local economy

The plan customized to student interest and ability is called the Individual Graduation Plan, or IGP, and is based upon the national cluster model.  The IGP is created with the help of school counselors, parents or parental designees.  As a team, they meet annually to discuss and adjust the IGP.

Waccamaw Region School District Links

• Georgetown County School District
• Horry County School District
• Williamsburg County School District 

School Districts Clusters of Study

The cluster concept will allow a focus on academics and take courses following a chosen career plan. View videos on all 16 Career Clusters.

Useful Links For Faculty

• Career Cluster Calendar (2008-2009)
• Career Cluster Guides (Magazines) - SC Department of Education
• Career Cluster Participation Resources
• Career Cluster Videos
• Career Information (A-Z) - eMINTS National Center

Office of Professional Development

The Office of Professional Development asks, What Matters Most? Teaching for America's Future, the highly regarded report of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, asks this nation to get serious about standards for both student and teacher performance and calls for the reinvention of teacher professional development as a means to the end.

SC Economic Education Council

The SC Economic Education Council promotes economic development in K-12 Education.

Chamber of Commerce

Get information on local businesses, events, and more.

• Georgetown
• Horry
• Williamsburg
   

Center for Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA)

The purpose of the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA) is to provide leadership in identifying, attracting, placing and retaining well-qualified individuals for the teaching profession in our state. In doing so, CERRA will respond to changing needs for teachers from underrepresented populations, in critical subject fields and in under-served geographical areas in South Carolina. The Center will work cooperatively with other organizations to promote the teaching profession. Visit the CERRA website for more information.

Division of Eduator Quality and Leadership

State Superintendent Inez M. Tenenbaum created the Division of Educator Quality and Leadership to focus intensively on providing a highly qualified teacher and leader in every classroom and school. South Carolina's work to improve teacher quality has won national recognition and respect. "Quality Counts," the annual education evaluation published by the respected national magazine Education Week, ranked South Carolina's teacher quality initiatives number one in the nation in 2003 and 2004 and number two in 2005. Visit the Division of Educator Quality and Leadership website for more information.

Blackboard Teacher Information

The Blackboard Academic Suite is an online application aimed at providing a wider variety of successful, sustainable professional development via the Internet for K-12 teachers, regardless of their location and school-year schedule.

Professional Education Associations

The Professional Education Associations website. provides hypertext links to professional associations for teachers, teachers-in-training, graduate students, and educational researchers.

Professional Associations for Educators

The Professional Associations for Educators exists to help members value and promote their profession as well as nurture their individual careers. View the Professional associations for educators .pdf file