News Releases

The South Carolina Department of Education and its partners will host a Computer Science and STEM Summit on September 19 in Greenville. Speakers for the event include State Superintendent Molly Spearman, Gov. Henry McMaster, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and Lilyn Hester, Head of External Affairs-Southeast for Google.

The State Board of Education held a special-called meeting on July 12 to update guidelines for ensuring safety in South Carolina schools. Public school districts in South Carolina are required to complete the annual Model Safe School Checklist and submit updated plans to the state Department of Education by Sept. 1 each year. Districts also must work with local law enforcement, and when necessary, state law enforcement agencies in order to ensure that the district has an updated plan in place. 

Today’s announcement is the third National Merit Scholar release in 2022 by National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC®). NMSC named recipients of corporate-sponsored awards on April 27 and winners of National Merit® $2500 Scholarships on May 11. Additional recipients of college-sponsored awards will be announced on July 11. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $28 million.

Today’s release is the second announcement of winners in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. On April 27, about 1,000 recipients of corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards were named, and on June 1 and July 11, some 4,000 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship winners will be announced. By the conclusion of this year’s competition, about 7,500 academic champions will have won National Merit Scholarships worth approximately $28 million.

State Superintendent Molly Spearman has been named as a 2022 recipient of SCASA's Lifetime Achievement Award. Each year SCASA selects exemplars of educational leadership to receive the SCASA Lifetime
Achievement Award. These leaders have dedicated their lives to educating South Carolina’s children,
serving their communities, and providing an example for those who aspire to lead.

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) kicked off its summer food service program today at Richland Library’s North Main location. The program, better known as Summer Break Café, is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provides free meals for children 18 and under from June through August.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman today announced the allocation of $38 million in state funding to Clarendon County Schools to assist in the renovation and replacement of antiquated existing school facilities with safe, modern facilities to accommodate current and future county enrollment trends. Clarendon County will receive an additional $3,125,000 to assist with the soon to be completed consolidation of its two current districts into one county wide system. The funding is part of the $100 million appropriated to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) under Proviso 1.104 of the General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2021-2022 and $140 million under Proviso 1.92 of the General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2022-2023.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman today announced the allocation of $38 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds and state funds to Lee County School District to address critical facilities needs and accommodate current and future county enrollment trends.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman today announced the allocation of $38 million in state funding to Saluda County School District to both renovate and replace antiquated existing school facilities with safe, modern facilities to accommodate current and future county enrollment trends. The funding is part of the $100 million appropriated to the South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) under Proviso 1.104 of the General Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman today announced the allocation of $15 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds to Dillon School District Three and Dillon School District Four to both renovate and replace antiquated existing school facilities with safe, modern facilities to accommodate current and future county enrollment trends.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has announced the 58^th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

The South Carolina Department of Education has announced $15,025,386.68 in federal funding for 19 nonpublic schools in South Carolina. The funds are part of the second round of allocations to states under the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) program, originally authorized under the 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act and continued under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.

State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman announced tonight at the annual South Carolina Teacher of the Year Gala that Deion Jamison, an English teacher at Legacy Early College with the South Carolina Public Charter School District, is the 2023 South Carolina Teacher of the Year.

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) and Dominion Energy are pleased to announce the winners of the second annual Strong Men & Women in South Carolina History student writing contest. One winner was selected from each of South Carolina’s five regions: Central Savannah River Area (CSRA), Lowcountry, Midlands, Pee Dee, and Upstate.

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has partnered with the South Carolina Afterschool Alliance (SCAA) to provide up to $14.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding to expand summer and after-school programs to address COVID-19 related learning loss in disadvantaged communities.

The event will include fun, at-home learning for all families with K-5 children, with video welcome from Governor Henry McMaster and State Superintendent Molly Spearman.

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has contracted with a leading educational research and analytics firm to launch a first-of-its-kind statewide “Teacher as Researcher” initiative. The $2 million investment is made possible through the state’s Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief Fund.

The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) has expanded two successful home-grown programs, Call Me MISTER and Teaching Fellows, and stood up a new initiative, TeachSC, in response to the growing teacher shortage in the state.