Plans for teacher retreat progress

COLUMBIA -- Plans for a multimillion-dollar waterfront, resort-like center where South Carolina teachers can rejuvenate are moving forward.

In March, the state Department of Education announced plans for the retreat, with Superintendent Jim Rex saying the Teacher Renewal Center in Pickens County will serve as a reward for teachers who are often overworked and under-appreciated.

The State newspaper of Columbia reported Saturday that developer Jim Anthony, who has donated $10 million and hundreds of acres of land for the center, is raising about $15 million in private donations and hopes to begin construction in 18 months.

Long-term, deputy superintendent Mark Bounds says the center will be paid for through grants, a modest registration fee and possibly state dollars.

Plans for the center near the Jocassee Gorges, a 43,500-acre public park that borders the North Carolina line, call for a hotel, restaurant and conference complex.

The retreat is similar to a state-funded program in North Carolina, which has two retreats for teachers, one in the mountains and the other on a barrier island. But officials have said South Carolina's program would be the first to provide activities for both teachers and their students.

The state Department of Education has narrowed a pool of about 90 applicants for the center's executive director position down to a handful. A decision will be reached early in 2009.

In South Carolina, more than 6,500 teachers - or about 13 percent - left their districts at the end of last school year, according to the state Center for Education Recruitment, Retention and Advancement. Nationwide, about 20 percent of new teachers find a new career within the first three years, according to the National Education Association.