Whitlock Junior High in Spartanburg District 7 is one of four schools in South Carolina, that have struggled to improve student achievement, volunteered for comprehensive makeovers that will begin this year.
Whitlock Junior High, Gibbes Middle School in Richland District 1, Lee Central Middle School in Lee County and North Charleston High School in Charleston County will serve as pilots for a "Turnaround Schools" initiative.
All four schools have poverty index ratings of 94 percent or higher.
Education Superintendent Jim Rex says the makover includes performance pay for teachers, data-driven decisions on instruction and more robust community and business partnerships.
Whitlock and Gibbes will work closely with teams from the South Carolina Department of Education. "We're trying three different approaches, with three teams sharing ideas and comparing results," Rex said in a written statement. "What we're after is a set of strategies that will help not only these four schools, but other schools with extremely high poverty rates and low student achievement."
Rex said that Spartanburg 7 Superintendent Thomas White actively sought to have Whitlock as a pilot working with Education Department teams.
All four schools will have flexibility in meeting state regulations and policies that deal with hiring, budget, curriculum and teaching.
This fall will begin a 'redesign year' at Whitlock with the school getting the services of a four-person Education Department team that will feature a curriculum specialist, a data specialist, a math and science coach and an English Language Arts and social studies coach.
Following the redesign year, teachers will be evaluated to determine who will return the next year.
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