CCSD and Mississippi Partnership-Dreamers

As Charleston County School District prepares for June 6, the last day for students, Superintendent Don Kennedy continues to work on initiatives that enhance learning. Kennedy reiterated the district’s efforts to replicate actions undertaken in Mississippi that moved Mississippi’s state education national ranking in reading and math from 50th to 35th. And Kennedy established the groundwork for helping all students realize their dreams by identifying what those dreams are and creating support systems to ensure students’ dreams can become a reality.

“The involvement of the entire Charleston community will be essential to ensure children have the ability to make their dreams come true,” Kennedy said recently. “Charleston County School District can only help all students realize their dreams by knowing what they are and creating support systems to ensure that they become reality,” Kennedy said.

With regard to replicating initiatives undertaken in Mississippi to improve its national ranking Kennedy said, "A part of Mississippi’s success in moving from 50th in the nation among all states to 35th in academic achievement in reading and math, is the state’s focus on early childhood learning. We are trying to replicate Mississippi’s success in CCSD. Our expansion of early childhood education will result in more children attending pre-kindergarten classes.”

Kennedy said he has the exciting job of figuring out what kids in school need and making sure they have it. “It is my job to help make it possible for your dreams to come true,” he said.

As part of that process the district has welcomed Dr. Carey Wright, retired Mississippi State Superintendent of Education, to Charleston to evaluate its work in reading, math, and around college/career readiness. Wright, a visionary leader with a proven track record of systems change, will work alongside district leadership. CCSD is committed to achieving Vision 2027 where all students read on grade level by grade five. Wright’s partnership and expertise are integral components of CCSD’s preK-12 ecosystem designed to support whole child development, educational attainment, and economic success.

During her initial two-day visit in early March Wright engaged with teachers, teacher coaches, principals, and central-level leaders around the important literacy work taking place across the district. CCSD already had held an Early Learning Kindergarten Readiness Symposium

November 30, 2022, to expand collaboration among agencies. Local childcare providers and municipal partners joined Kim Foxworth, the district’s Executive Director of Early Learning Readiness Programs, and her team to engage and collaborate on the topic of early learning and kindergarten readiness. The focus was to collectively identify and define the academic and social-emotional skills of a Kindergarten-ready child.

“Our expansion of early childhood education will result in more children attending pre-kindergarten classes. These efforts link directly to our dreamers’ initiative,” Kennedy said. CCSD’s Office of Expanded Learning Kaleidoscope Programs traditionally serves students in grades K-5. The program’s after school component henceforth will be serving four-year-olds.

Kennedy’s concept of realizing student’s dreams is vital to the process. In March Kennedy invited elementary school principals and kindergarten teachers to help him capture young learners' dreams and share them with him in an open letter. Beforehand, he sat down with ten kindergarten students and heard about their dreams.

Kennedy said, “One of the most disturbing things I have discovered since becoming superintendent is that many of our African American students in middle school have lost the capacity to dream about a bright future for themselves. I have also discovered that kindergartners dream big. So, somewhere along the way from kindergarten to middle school, some people, the dream killers, have shut down these children’s hopes and dreams, and in the process closed the door on an important passage to success. The purpose of the dream initiative is to keep this door open for our children as they move from kindergarten through elementary school and on into middle school."