The University of South Carolina is partnering with Darlington County School District, Florence Public School District Five, Lexington County School District One, Marion County School District, School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties, and Sumter School District to deliver Our Founding Principles: Preparing Educators for America’s Semiquincentennial and Beyond.
This partnership involves providing professional development for 120 social studies and American history teachers enabling them to advance their expertise in American history, civics and government, and geography content and learning how to best teach this content to improve students’ understanding of American history and its founding documents. The project is utilizing seminars centering on our country’s founding principles and commemorating America’s Semiquincentennial. In addition, participants are creating and implementing instructional plans focusing on the ideas, traditions, institutions, and texts essential to American constitutional government and heritage which also meet state-mandated curriculum standards.
The primary goals of this project are: (1) to improve the quality of teaching and student achievement in American history, civics and government, and geography in elementary and secondary schools, and (2) provide professional development, with a focus on underserved populations, demonstrating innovation, scalability, and accountability.