The innovative compensation model of rewarding educators for their impact in the classroom is gaining momentum in South Carolina, with the Excellence in Teaching Awards set to be offered in 47 schools statewide this year.

Charleston County School District will expand the awards to all 22 of its Title 1 elementary schools, which include more than 400 teachers. That’s an increase of eight schools from last school year.

Additionally, the South Carolina Department of Education announced on Tuesday that the Excellence in Teaching Awards model would be used in 11 new districts statewide and funded by a portion of a $5 million Strategic Compensation Pilot Grant.

“We need to transform the status quo model of educator compensation, and the Excellence in Teaching Awards does that by recognizing teachers for their measurable impact on students’ learning,” said Josh Bell, president of Beemok Education, which manages the Excellence in Teaching Awards program. “By focusing on students’ outcomes, we are championing a results-driven approach that elevates expectations and honors those who help students reach their full potential.”

Beyond Charleston and the new state grantees, a total of 14 additional schools – four Meeting Street Schools in Charleston and Spartanburg, seven HOPE network schools in Allendale and Williamsburg counties operated by the South Carolina Department of Education and three in the Legacy Early College network – also participate in the Excellence in Teaching Awards program; those Awards are funded through a mix of private and public dollars.

Charleston County School District Superintendent Anita Huggins said she was grateful for the opportunity to honor the district’s incredible educators who are driving student success.

“If we want to change the trajectory for our students, investing in our teachers must be a priority,” she said. “The Excellence in Teaching Awards is a meaningful way to show our appreciation and commitment to the educators who are shaping the future of our community.”

The Excellence in Teaching Awards rewards transformative educators making the biggest impact in the highest need schools. The Awards are performance bonuses provided on top of teachers’ base salaries. The Awards are philanthropically funded in Charleston County School District, meaning public dollars aren’t used to cover the cost of the financial incentive.

For the 2023-24 school year, the average classroom award in Charleston County schools was $5,000, and the highest classroom award was $31,000. Last year, educators in 14 Charleston County schools earned a total of $1.5 million in awards; statewide, more than 430 educators earned $2.9 million.

The Excellence in Teaching Awards in Charleston County schools include two components: classroom growth and individual student advancement. To earn an Award for classroom growth, educators’ students must advance more than one year in reading or math. To earn an Award for individual student growth, students must move up at least one quartile in reading or math. The bigger the growth, the bigger the Award.

Elsewhere, the Awards are based on classroom growth as well as student proficiency. For the latter component, educators earn awards based on the number of students who demonstrate mastery of grade-level content in reading and math.

The Awards launched in 2021 in four Meeting Street Schools, a groundbreaking network of schools empowering students with the life-changing education they deserve. Meeting Street Schools, the Excellence in Teaching Awards and the Meeting Street Scholarship Fund are part of Beemok Education, which are initiatives spearheaded by philanthropists Ben and Kelly Navarro and dedicated to creating opportunities and changing lives.

Research has proven time and again that students from low-income backgrounds often begin school further behind their peers from more affluent backgrounds, and the achievement gap between those students is even wider now than before the pandemic.

The Awards have been shown to have a demonstrable effect on teacher retention as well as motivation to work even harder to maximize student growth, according to surveys of Excellence in Teaching Awards recipients.

Across the eligible Charleston County School District elementary schools, 84 percent of students qualify for free and reduced-price meals. The additional eligible Charleston County elementary schools are: Springfield, E.B. Ellington, Mt. Zion, Charleston Progressive, St. James Santee, Minnie Hughes, Mary Ford Early Learning Center and Jane Edwards.

The 11 schools funded by state money and using the Excellence in Teaching Awards model are: New Prospect Elementary in Anderson 5, Whale Branch Middle in Beaufort County, College Park Middle in Berkeley County, Gray Collegiate Academy with the Erskine Institute, Bells Elementary in Colleton County, Hannah-Pamplico in Florence 2, Eleanor Rice Elementary in Greenwood 50, Estill Middle in Hampton County, Lee Central Middle in Lee County, Seven Oaks Elementary School Media Magnet in Lexington 5 and Newberry Middle in Newberry County.