Two South Carolina elected officials visited an Aiken-area elementary school Wednesday morning.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster and State Superintendent Ellen Weaver visited J.D. Lever Elementary School for the ceremonial signing of a bill revamping the state's Read to Succeed program.
One of the things the bill, S.B. 418, does is fund Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) training for all public school teachers kindergarten through third grade in the Palmetto State, Weaver said.
LETRS training is "comprehensive professional learning designed to provide early childhood and elementary educators and administrators with deep knowledge to be literacy and language experts in the science of reading" according to the company's website.
"We can have the best plans in Columbia, but if we don't support our teachers, it doesn't matter," Weaver said. "What matters is what our teachers have, the tools in their toolbox. And so, your leaders in the General Assembly have funded this training."
J.D. Lever Elementary was a pilot school for the two-unit training, Aiken County Public School District Superintendent King Laurence said.
"We thank you for investing in our teachers," Laurence continued. "We're honored that you are here today as we celebrate your commitment to strengthening literacy."
The school has seen a benefit from the training, Principal Kippy Kelly said.
Before the school's teachers received the training, the school scored a "37" on its state report card in reading, Kelly said. Two years later, the school received a "52" on its report card, she added.
But, it's the students who will benefit most, Kelly, Laurence and Weaver said.
Reading is especially important in today's technology driven economy, McMaster and Weaver said.
"You have to learn how to read," McMaster said. "There are computers in the world that everything that's in every one of these books are right there in that computer… You know where you can go to find the best computer? Look in the mirror in your house and it's right there [the brain]."
Reading, Master said, is the key to unlocking that power.
McMaster added he was good friends with Jack Kemp, who constantly preached the need to read.
Kemp was a professional quarterback for 13 years. He was later elected to Congress as a representative from New York and served as House Republican Conference chairman for 1981-1987. Kemp also served as Housing and Urban Development secretary under George H.W. Bush.
McMaster said Kemp said people need to read for three hours per day to reach their potential and get ahead.
"I was younger when he said that, I thought he was exaggerating," McMaster said. "But, I've come to learn that he was exactly right."
South Carolina Senate Education Committee Chairman Sen. Greg Hembree, R-Horry, and Miranda Williams of ExcelinEd also attended.
S.C. Rep. Bill Taylor, R-Aiken, attended the ceremony but did not speak.
