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STAFF SPOTLIGHT: Olympia Learning Center Principal Bobbie Hartwell, Jr. Works to Give Middle and High School Students a Second Chance

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When students walk through the doors at Richland One’s Olympia Learning Center, it’s usually because they have been placed in the alternative learning environment due to behavioral issues at the schools they’re zoned to attend.

Bobbie Hartwell, Jr. is in his fifth year as principal at Olympia, which serves middle school students and high school students. For Hartwell, his job is to lead the way in providing those students with a second chance.

“We have students who have made mistakes. We let our students know that we’ve all made mistakes, but don’t let that mistake define who you are. If you continue to let mistakes define who you are, you will continue to make those mistakes over and over,” said Hartwell. “We let students know that this is a new start to make them a better version of themselves.”

Hartwell, who is from the Orangeburg County town of North, graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1996. He came to Richland One in 2002 as a math teacher at Southeast Middle School, before becoming an assistant principal at Southeast and serving in that position for five years. He also served as an assistant principal at Lower Richland High School for one year, and he was the principal at Hopkins Middle School for eight years.

Hartwell says going from a traditional school setting to Olympia rejuvenated his career as an educator.

“It got me to see why I truly got into education. I have always worked best with students that others thought were difficult and can’t be reached. Working with those types of students is a passion of mine,” he said.

Hartwell says building relationships is the most important way to help students at Olympia succeed. He understands that the students may have built up some walls mentally because of the issues they faced at their schools.

“If we don’t establish those relationships, those walls will build up. We have to break down those walls before we can even get to the academics,” said Hartwell.

That relationship-building starts during a student’s intake meeting. During that meeting, Hartwell finds out what a student likes and dislikes, and what makes them upset.

“We use that information to help build a student up and find out how we can better support them,” he said.

If a student is misbehaving during class, Hartwell says he and his administrative staff will normally pull the student out and talk to them before sending them back into the classroom.

“We try to get our students to understand from the adult perspective what exactly they’re looking for and how they can better respond to that situation. When they get back to their zoned school, we want to put them in situations where they know how to respond,” he said.

Creative social-emotional learning is one of the big tools Hartwell and his staff use to help students succeed. This school year, Olympia received a donation of Walking Classroom kits, which will allow middle school students to listen to educational aligned lessons on podcast devices while doing physical activity. Olympia also started a yoga program for its female high school students this year to help them become more relaxed and socially disciplined.

“We really try to do things outside of the box that students may not get in a traditional school setting,” said Hartwell.

For Hartwell, every student’s success story is different. For example, if a student was sent to Olympia for getting into a physical fight, Hartwell says success for that student means they don’t get into any fights after 45 days.

“We tell every student and their parents during their intake meeting that success is going to look different for each student based on why they’re here. We don’t have a one-size-fits-all model here because that doesn’t work,” said Hartwell.

One of the best kinds of success stories Hartwell sees is when high school students who go to Olympia are able to walk across the stage with their friends at graduation.

“These are students that others may have given up on because of their behavior. The ultimate ‘we did our job’ is when we see students who matriculate through Olympia Learning Center get back on track with their behaviors and their academics,” said Hartwell.

Since becoming principal at Olympia, Hartwell says the rate of students who end up returning to Olympia has decreased. He attributes that to the relationships he’s been able to build with students.

“The students who come here say that I’m real. I give them the answers that they not necessarily want, but the answers that they need to be successful,” said Hartwell.

October is National Principals Month. For information about administrative opportunities in Richland One and to apply, click here.