South Carolina School Leaders Build Instructional Leadership

The impact of NIET’s work with principals continues to grow and show results, and schools in South Carolina showed growth with the development of instructional leadership. Orangeburg County School District, a long-time partner, achieved growth in every tested subject for the first time ever in 2023. Orangeburg is a member of the South Carolina Principal Leadership Network, a two-year cohort-based program to build leadership capacity and skills in high-need districts.

Through intensive coaching and support for school leaders, particularly those in underserved communities, NIET helps leaders build their capacity to coach classroom teachers. For example, NIET coaches principals in the use of walk-throughs to identify and address immediate instructional needs, and in planning how to increase students’ access to high-quality STEM education and social-emotional learning opportunities. The network includes five districts, reaching more than 150 administrators in 78 schools that serve a total of 58,000 students.

Increasing access to great classroom teaching is central to school and district success. To address this challenge, NIET partners with districts statewide to provide instructional training to teachers, principals, and district leaders. The training aligns with the South Carolina Teaching Standards 4.0 Rubric and covers topics that include planning, delivering instruction, and building a strong classroom and school environment. A key aspect of the training is that it gives teachers across the state a chance to learn from one another.

Examining new techniques together helps educators make connections to their everyday practice and understand how deeper-level learning can be achieved. NIET partner schools in South Carolina that implemented the TAP System gained national attention after a study released this year demonstrated the impact of the TAP System on student academic outcomes.

Read more about the study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research in the section of this report entitled Our Impact

About the NIET Annual Report

The NIET Annual Report highlights key milestones and achievements over the past year as we have supported partners around the country in building the capacity of educators and unleashing the power of teacher leadership. Read about NIET’s partnerships across the country and how these partnerships are leading to significant impacts on student achievement in the full report here.