September 8, 2015: Charleston County School District Superintendent Dr. Gerrita Postlewait spoke at our September 8th meeting.
Since joining the District on July 8, Dr. Postlewait has been busy visiting every Mayor in Charleston County, constituent boards, principals, teachers and various media outlets. She makes it a priority to visit one school each day as schedule allows. She thanked our Rotary Club for it’s support of the schools and the affirmation that gives to both teachers and students in an era of such criticism of public schools.
The focus of her talk was around 3 goals she had for her role as Superintendent:
Goal 1– Learn how to work productively and positively with the School Board. She added that this Board is the best she has worked for but will always be a divided Board. (Sometimes hard to get agreement on adjournment.)
Goal 2– Learn how the Charleston County School District works as a system.
Goal 3– Get out and into all of the communities and understand the unique needs and differences of each while setting the goal of working together in concert.
She continued that we need to make sure every student is able to take advantage of the employment opportunities that are available but the current educational system doesn’t support that. We have inherited an institution from another era, from an industrial era where the assembly line was what students were prepared for. It is an assembly line system to produce students to serve in an assembly line age. Public schools need to do a better job and reorganize to achieve it. Redesign is the challenge. There is a close connection between quality of life and the ability to support one’s family.
How do we revitalize the peninsula schools and create and environment for students to flourish? She asked. Change, but change doesn’t come easily. If we want significantly greater numbers of students to achieve at higher levels we must embrace change and connect deeply with post-secondary providers to find the necessary certifications and close the gap for the students.
Focus on outcomes that are tangible, indicators that are tangible and real.
She concluded with a quote:
‘If you want to be happy for an hour, take a nap.
If you want to be happy for a day, go fishing.
If you want to be happy for a week, take a vacation.
If you want to be happy for a month, get married.
If you want to be happy for a year, win the lottery.
If you want to be happy for life, find work you love to do.’
She answered a couple of questions after:
“Where do you turn for strength in a job that can be lonely?”
Her answer was “faith, family and friends, and never leave home without a sense of humor”
“How do you manage broken families and children with insufficient guidance?”
She answered that it creates a whole other realm of responsibility and support and although it may not be the job of the schools, if they don’t do it, no one will.
“What was her biggest surprise?”
The biggest surprise has been the gaps and differences in outlooks, beliefs and solution sets that the different communities put on the table. The perception of quality of life varies widely.
“What does change look like?”
We need a better set of indicators. Credit for a “D” is the same as credit for an “A”, but for the student who gets a “D” in math, the chances are slim they will pursue a degree in mathematics.
— Don Baus, Keyway Committee