Georgetown County School District -

"Reading is the key that unlocks the treasure chest of knowledge and fuels the flames of imagination. For students, a love of reading is not just a skill; it's a lifelong companion on the journey of learning and self-discovery." - Author Unknown #GCSDReads visited classrooms – Mrs. Black, Mrs. Dozier, Mrs. Proctor, and Mrs. Toemmes - at Kensington Elementary on Wednesday, December 6. Dr. Giles and Superintendent Price shared their favorite books with students (and had a chance to take some silly photos). #GCSDReads #hardworkpaysoff #GCSD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Georgetown County School District Names Alan Walters as Chief Operations Officer GEORGETOWN, [December 7, 2023] – Alan Walters was named Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Georgetown County School District (GCSD) at the December 5 meeting of the GCSD Board of Trustees. Currently serving as the Executive Director of Safety and Risk Management, Walters brings years of experience and a proven track record of leadership to his new role as COO. In his expanded capacity, Walters will be responsible for overseeing and evaluating the administration of key departments - Safety & Risk Management, Transportation, and Facilities - critical to the effective delivery of services to schools, departments, and the community. “Mr. Walters brings a wealth of experience, from his previous role within our school district, in working across these areas. He is a thorough and dependable leader who has advanced GCSD in many ways,” shared Superintendent Keith Price. “I look forward to working with Mr. Walters in this expanded role as we continue in our efforts to serve our students, employees, families and the communities of Georgetown County.” As COO, Walters will play a pivotal role in facilities. In addition to working with the Director of Facilities, he will oversee financial planning and budgeting for the implementation of facility and operations master plans. His responsibilities extend to preparing applications for state and other funding agencies and initiating facility construction, upgrades, and repair projects, all of which contribute to the overall enhancement of GCSD’s infrastructure. In the realm of transportation, Walters will assist the Director of Transportation in effectively communicating procedures and regulations to the public and staff. Additionally, he will play a central role in identifying and implementing improvements to transportation services and efficiency. Walters will actively contribute to accident and incident investigations, working closely with Area Route Coordinators to ensure the safety and security of all transportation-related activities. In addition to his new role as COO, Walters serves as a member of the South Carolina State Board of Education, which he chaired in 2022. He has served on several state education task forces including teacher recruitment and retention, school safety, and discipline. Walters’ recognitions include being named Campus Safety Magazine’s National K-12 Director of the Year, and he was also the South Carolina Public Risk Managers Association (SCPRIMA) State Risk Professional of the Year in 2017. He was awarded the State District Level Administrator of the Year by the SC Association of School Administrators (SCASA) in 2021. The Georgetown County School District is confident that Walters' extensive background in safety, risk management, and operations will greatly benefit the district in his new role as Chief Operations Officer.

2023 Hard Work Pays Off Bonus Approved During the December 5 Board of Trustees meeting, the Board voted to approve the Hard Work Pays Off Bonus presented by Chief Financial Officer, Lisa Johnson. The Hard Work Pays Off Bonus includes: * A one-time $1,000 bonus for eligible full-time contract employees. * A one-time $500 bonus for temporary and part-time employees paid from a timesheet. Employees must have worked an average of 20 hours per week between August 15, 2023, and October 15, 2023. * Employees must have begun working by September 6, 2023, and must be actively employed on December 1, 2023 to be eligible. * The Hard Work Pays Off bonus will be directly deposited on December 12 and will be in addition to the payroll checks issued on December 15 and 19. The cost of the one-time Hard Work Pays Off bonus is estimated to not exceed $1.8 million in costs, which includes related fringe benefits and will be funded from the savings that were realized from the 2022-23 General Fund Operating Revenue Budget. #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff

“Growing the Gr.E.En.” in GCSD This week GCSD recognized and celebrated schools for their 22-23 School Report Card rating and/or growth during the 2022-2023 school year. EXCELLENT RATING – Pleasant Hill Elementary STREAM Academy; Waccamaw Middle School; and Waccamaw High School GOOD RATING – Kensington Elementary and Waccamaw Intermediate IMPROVED TWO LEVELS – Rosemary Middle and Waccamaw Middle IMPROVED ONE LEVEL – Pleasant Hill Elementary STREAM Academy; Carvers Bay High School; and Waccamaw High School Let's take a moment to applaud each student's commitment, the dedication of our educators, and the support from families. To learn more about or to view the 22-23 School Report Cards, visit https://screportcards.com/. Great job and keep up the good work! #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff

Join us for a magical evening at the BEACH Singers Winter Concert! Date: Sunday, December 3 Time: 5:00 PM Venue: Winyah Auditorium Immerse yourself in the spirit of the season as the GCSD BEACH Singers serenade you with a heartwarming selection of winter tunes. Admission is FREE, so bring your friends and family for an unforgettable musical journey. We can't wait to share this special evening with you! #GCSD #HardWorkPaysOff #BEACHSingers #WinyahAuditorium

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Sir Richard Steele Howling at the moon, gobbling like turkeys, thinking with a growth mindset – these are a few of the “exercises” students experienced today while reading with Superintendent Keith Price, Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bethany Giles, and Executive Director for Elementary Schools Fedrick Cohens. #GCSDReads #hardworkpaysoff #GCSD

It’s American Education Week! This week we recognize and celebrate the contributions of everyone involved in public education. Join us as we highlight GCSD’s team – teachers, support staff, administrators, board members, students, parents, substitute teachers, community partners, and local businesses #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff #AmericanEducationWeek2023 #aew2023

GCSD is seeking public input into proposed amendments to our Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding spending plan. We are committed to ensuring that our students, staff, and community members have a voice in shaping the future of our educational initiatives. As part of this commitment, we are asking for public comments on the proposed amendments to our ESSER spending plan. The ESSER funds, provided by the federal government, are designed to support a wide range of activities, including mitigating learning loss, ensuring the health and safety of our students and staff, and addressing other post-pandemic-related needs. We have carefully reviewed our initial ESSER spending plan and identified areas where amendments are necessary to better serve our students and community. The proposed amendments include: - Expanding the current arts integration allocation to include funds for replacement of band instruments - Enhancing after school academic support days to include additional opportunities for students to receive academic assistance - Upgrading existing shared water fountains to bottle filling stations to improve sanitation efforts - Strengthening the GCSD IT department to include additional security measures, printer and printer software upgrades, and hotspots to support increased technology usage and student academics. GCSD believes these amendments will help us adapt and improve the education we provide to our students. However, we value the input of our stakeholders and community members. We invite all community members, parents, students, teachers, and other stakeholders to review the proposed amendments at www.gcsd.k12.sc.us and provide comments and suggestions. Please submit comments to PublicComments@gcsd.k12.sc.us by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. Your feedback is vital in shaping the future of our school district, and we encourage you to participate in this process. We look forward to hearing from our community and working together to ensure the best possible education for our students.

It's School Psychologist Week! 🎉 Let's celebrate the amazing work our school psychologists do in supporting students' mental and emotional well-being. Thank you for making a difference! 💙 #HardWorkPaysOff #SchoolPsychologistWeek #MentalHealthMatters #SupportingStudents

"Reading should not be presented to children as a chore or a duty. It should be offered as a gift." – Kate DiCamillo Today, Superintendent Keith Price and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bethany Giles shared their love of reading with students at Plantersville Digital Immersion School. Did you by chance hear any students (or maybe Mr. Price) howling at the moon? #GCSDReads #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff

For the last four Mondays, the First Tee Program has worked collaboratively with Georgetown County School District to host a school day program for our 4th grade students. This program gives students the opportunity to learn the basic fundamentals of golf as well as core values such as Honesty, Respect, Sportsmanship, Confidence, Leadership, and Responsibility. Pictured are AES and PES students participating in First Tee Program at Cherry Hill Country Club in Andrews, one of the sites for the school day program.

You are invited to the ... GCSD BEACH Singers Winter Concert December 3, 2023 at 5pm Winyah Auditorium Admission is FREE. We hope to see you there! #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff

Aaron Reiss, HTC’s Strategic Account Advisor, visited GCSD’s high schools on Tuesday to present $1000 to each school’s golf program. The HTC marketing team shared, “October is National Cooperative month and HTC is swinging into action to celebrate the spirit of community our cooperative values. We’re dedicated to Helping The Community through various employee fundraisers including the Co-Op Cup Golf Tournament. Our employees are the driving force behind the initiative, as they volunteer their time and efforts to organize the event and ensure funds go directly towards benefiting youth, schools and athletic programs in our community. We're proud of the contributions they've made to the Georgetown County Schools golf programs and the impacts made in shaping the future generation.” Thank you, HTC, for your donation and for supporting GCSD’s athletic programs!

Check out these smiles! Elementary, middle, and high school induction teachers were given a treat at their meeting on October 18 - a bag full of school supplies. Thank you Ringel Heights Baptist Church for helping our new teachers stock their classrooms.

National School Bus Safety Week, celebrated each year during the third full week of October, brings together school bus operators, students, parents, educators, and motorists to raise awareness of the importance of school bus safety. GCSD reminds all bus riders of the following safety tips: • Always remain in direct eyesight of the bus driver. • Get to the bus stop in plenty of time. • Never reach underneath the bus. • Always follow the driver’s directions for how to cross the street. • Be alert to traffic and look both ways. • Always cross in front of the bus, but ONLY when the bus driver signals it is safe to do so. #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff #SchoolBusSafetyEveryday

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” —Dr. Seuss Superintendent Keith Price and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Bethany Giles visited Waccamaw Elementary School this morning as we continue to encourage students to fall in love with reading. #GCSDReads #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff

Be Pro Be Proud visited GCSD this week with stops at Andrews High, Georgetown High, and Waccamaw High. Through stations on the Be Pro Be Proud SC Mobile Workshop, participating students were introduced to in-demand technical careers in South Carolina. https://www.beprobeproudsc.org/ #hardworkpaysoff #gcsd #PathwaysToSuccess

Carvers Bay High School has been recognized by the SCHSL for their participation in the first Living Clean Week of the 2023-2024 school year. Fifteen athletes and four coaches from the school's baseball, cross country, and basketball teams completed a campus-wide litter sweep and prepared the campus for Homecoming activities. Great job! To learn more about Clean Living Week visit https://schsl.org/archives/11886.

Your feedback is needed once again. Using feedback from our initial calendar survey, GCSD's Calendar Committee made revisions to the proposed 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 Modified Year-Round School Calendars . Please visit https://forms.gle/sXh7CZUnpKzb4m4L6 to review the proposed changes and provide feedback. The survey will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 22, 2023.

It has been an exciting day for GCSD’s fourth grade students. In addition to visiting Joseph Rainey Park to view the sculpture of Harriet Tubman and the Charters of Freedom display, students attended a live performance of “Harriet Tubman, A One-Woman Show” featuring Natalie Daise. Their smiles, excitement, and curiosity made for a fun and educational experience for all! #GCSD #hardworkpaysoff