Regional School Visit to Meeting Street Schools: A Public-Private Partnership
May 22, 2018
Charleston, SC – on Monday, May 21, 2018 the Hunt Institute hosted Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows along with North Carolina and Virginia Legislators, for a tour of Meeting Street Elementary School @ Brentwood. The education leaders had the opportunity to learn more about the partnership between Meeting Street Schools (MSS) and the Charleston County School District (CCSD). They were joined by Ben Navarro, Meeting Street School founder and Dr. Gerrita Postlewait, Charleston County School District Superintendent who engaged policymakers in a discussion about maximizing collective impact, maintaining a high-performing public school, and expanding educational opportunities for students in poverty.
The focus on Meeting Street Schools was encouraged by Cohort 2 Hunt-Kean Fellow, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who believes that this public-private partnership serves as a unique and innovative model for districts across the nation.
In attendance were: Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar (HK Fellow); West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner (HK Fellow); Virginia Delegate Glenn Davis; North Carolina Senator Rick Horner; North Carolina Representative Holly Grange; North Carolina Representative Rodney Moore; and Peter Barstad from Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer’s team.
The Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows program seeks to partner with senior-level political leaders who have the knowledge, skill, and will to be effective, reform-minded education policymakers at the state level. Named for renowned education governors Jim Hunt (D-NC | 1977-1985; 1993-2001) and Tom Kean (R-NJ | 1982-1990), the national, nonpartisan Fellowship launched in the fall of 2014. To date, the program boasts 83 Fellows representing 48 states.
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About Meeting Street Schools
MSS opened it’s Charleston, SC flagship Pre-K-5th independent school in 2008 as a proving ground; a place to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to close the opportunity gap that has plagued our community for decades. Drawing upon the best practices from innovative schools across the country, MSS’s founders developed this school as a prototype for educational change. MSS then launched its network of schools in 2012 with the opening of Meeting Street Academy Spartanburg, which was made possible by the contributions of a generous private donor who had been inspired by the success of the flagship school. In 2014, MSS partnered with Charleston County School District to create Meeting Street Elementary @ Brentwood, the first public-private educational partnership of its kind in South Carolina.
For more information, please visit www.meetingstreetschools.org.
