• Richland One students will have the option of having more plant-based meals on their school’s menu this year with items such as buffalo cauliflower bites. All dishes being prepared will meet the K-12 nutritional standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• Eleven Richland One high school seniors have been named semifinalists in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program. Richland One congratulates the following seniors for their selection as semifinalists, an honor that less than 1 percent of U.S. high school seniors achieve. Dreher High School’s semifinalists include Kathleen R. Allden, Porter W. Burkett, Jacob Lenski, Luke S. Lumpkin, Grace A. Stricklin, Leah Vazsonyi and Florence R. Wang. A.C. Flora High School’s semifinalists are Kylee A. Fulton, Audrey N. Galimba, Jonathan A. Pertile and Philippa A. Richter.

• Richland One earned a 2018 Partnership District Award from the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) at Johns Hopkins University for its Soar into Summer Success More than 400 students and parents attended Soar into Summer Success, which was held June 2 at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds. The primary purpose of the free event was to share tips with parents about what they can do at home during the summer to keep their children engaged and learning. Information also was provided about college readiness, district programs and services, and community resources. Attendees also enjoyed food, games and prizes. The NNPS District Award Committee praised Soar into Summer Success, which was coordinated by Richland One’s Office of Federal and State Programs, as a “thoughtful and useful activity” that engaged families, helped reduce students’ summer learning slide and kept students engaged and learning during vacation.

• Twenty-five Dreher High School students have earned the College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone Diploma based on the work they completed in the 2017-2018 school year. An additional eight students have earned the College Board’s AP Seminar and Research Certificate. Dreher was among the first four schools in South Carolina to offer AP Capstone coursework.

• G. Sanders Middle School opened a new DON’T QUIT! Fitness Center in October. Sanders was one of three South Carolina schools selected as a DON’T QUIT! Fitness Champion earlier this year for demonstrating new and innovative ways of promoting student physical activity and wellness. Governor Henry McMaster signed a proclamation declaring October as “DON’T QUIT Fitness Month.”

• Students at E.E. Taylor Elementary School received a surprise donation of grocery carts fill of books for their school and home libraries. The books were donated by Kellogg’s and BI-LO in an effort to put more books in more hands. BI-LO Senior Vice President Bill Nasshan read to students during the donation event.

• Four Richland One seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2019 National Merit Scholarship Program, one of the country’s most prestigious academic recognition programs. Richland One congratulates the following seniors for their selection as Commended Students:

• John F. Chapman,C. Flora High School
• Celeste Johnson, Dreher High School
• Thomas Johnson, Dreher High School
• Zuri Gilmore-Stevenson, Dreher High School

         Commended Students score in the top 2-3% of the 1.6 million students nationwide who took the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test              (PSAT/NMSQT) as juniors in October 2017.

• Richland One had seven student-athletes nominated for the 2018 Mr. Richland County High School Football Player of the Year Award. The winner will receive a $2,000 scholarship.

• Two Richland One employees—Samantha Carlisle, Principal of South Kilbourne Elementary School and Joya Gregg, Human Resources Coordinator—were selected to participate in the South Carolina Education Policy Fellowship Program (SC-EPFP). SC-EPFP is a 10-month intensive professional development program for established and emerging leaders in education and related fields. Fellows work to promote leadership, develop professional networks, demystify education policy and foster greater understanding of the roles of government in the community in education.

• BOOM (Building Occupational Opportunities in the Midlands), a highly successful construction job training program for special needs students, is expanding and winning awards for excellence. Five students with disabilities from Richland One, Richland Two and Lexington-Richland Five took a construction class at Midlands Technical College’s Airport Campus. All students received OSHA certification and a job offer or internship in the construction industry as a result of the program. In addition to winning the Program of the Year Award from the SC Division on Career Development and Transition, BOOM has been named the 2018 Outstanding Continuing Education Cooperative Program by the SC Association for Higher Continuing Education (SCAHCE). But the good news doesn’t stop there. The program recently received an innovation grant from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce which will allow each district to serve five additional students in 2018-2019 and another five students in 2019-2020 for a total of 15 students per district.

• Richland One will induct four new members into the school district’s Hall of Fame in February, district officials announced October 17. Induction into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon individuals by the Richland One Board of School Commissioners. The four members of the 2018 Richland One Hall of Fame induction class are:

• Vince Ford, a graduate of A.C. Flora High School and chief community health services officer for Palmetto Health who served on the Richland One Board of School Commissioners for 24 years and advocated for several key district policies, programs and initiatives, including the board’s passage of the landmark Healthy and Nutritious School Environment policy which removed soft drinks and unhealthy snacks from school vending machines accessible by students;
• Freddie E. Grace, Jr., who was Richland One’s lead orchestra teacher and an assistant high school band director and was instrumental in starting the district’s string program, later creating what is now known as the Richland One Honors Orchestra – Mr. Grace passed away in 2009;
• Jim Hockman, a retired Richland One teacher and administrator who helped introduce Richland One teachers to the use of technology as coordinator of the #1 Teacher Center and later established the district’s instructional technology program; and
• Reverend Dr. Solomon Jackson, Jr., a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School whose foundation has awarded $1 million in scholarships to Richland One students and funded the restoration of the historic Booker T. Washington High School auditorium.

• Richland One students took home three top prizes in the state swim championships. The Dreher High School swim team won the AAAA state title in the 200-meter free relay. The team includes students Hayley Mason, Eleanor Wachtel, Hannah Ammons and Jane Koch. Their coaches are Kelly Veeder and Lauren Dillon. This is the second 200M free relay state title for the program. Emerson Edwards and Tanner Edwards from C. Flora High School also won individual state swim titles. Emerson won the 100-yard freestyle, and Tanner is the state’s 100-yard backstroke champion. Their coaches are Kim Gould and Charles Goodrich.

• Richland One art students won numerous awards at this year’s South Carolina State Fair Art Competition, including two Best in Show honors, seven first-place awards and five second-place trophies. Crayton Middle School art teacher Kim Elliott won the Educator’s Award for having the most middle school ribbon winners in the state.

BEST IN SHOW WINNERS, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE FAIR ART COMPETITION

FIRST-PLACE WINNERS

SECOND-PLACE WINNERS

• The A.C. Flora High School girls tennis team won the 2018 Class 4A state championship November 10. The Lady Falcons won 5-1 over Hilton Head High School, finishing their season undefeated. Congratulations to the players and coaches including Head Coach Amy Martin who also was named the Crescent Construction Midlands Coach of the Week.

• Eau Claire High School’s volleyball program has received double honors this year. Senior Aerial Starks was named Region 3-AA Player of the Year and Demetris Murray was named Region 3-AA Coach of the Year, with her program finishing second in the region.

• Lamar Richards, a Richland One Middle College student, along with his research partner Austin Geer of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Math, became the first high school students to win the 2018 Louisiana State University National Undergraduate Research Competition. The pair of young researchers competed against undergraduate students from across the nation. Their first-place win in engineering and technology marked the first time a high school student has won this undergraduate competition. Since earning this award, Lamar plans to submit his research for publication and hopes to present his findings at the National Conferences on Undergraduate Research in Washington, D.C.

• Ariel Washington, a school psychologist intern assisting students, parents and staff at Edward E. Taylor Elementary School, recently received the Best Innovative Practice Award from the North Carolina School Psychology Association. She received the award for her work in developing a workshop to teach faculty about changing their approaches to dealing with student misbehavior by using more effective methods of correction.