More on Riverview
Recently, I shared thoughts on the inspiring broad based community effort that launched Riverview Charter School which, I believe, will be a stellar model for Public Charter Schools in Beaufort and throughout SC if not the nation. Throughout the first week, I heard stories about the first days of a new public school. A few snippets from many notes of the notes I received is at the bottom of this page.
Equally important, I heard from many parents, teachers and students (first grade to students at USCB and TCL) about many exciting initiatives in other public (and private) schools. By working together many parents, teachers and community leaders are making the adminstrations effort even stronger and more successful.

As I thought about how fortunate we are to live in Beaufort County, with a tax base strong enough to support our schools, I could not help but reflect upon my lifelong friend Bud Ferillo’s celebrated film, “The Corridor of Shame” which exposes educational challenges in counties less prosperous than ours.

If you have not seen “Corridor of Shame”, you can get it on line or borrow my dvd. To learn about it, all you have to do is go to

www.corridorofshame.com

Out of Bud’s powerful film emerged a strong movement that is to encouraging people to sign a petition seeking a change in the SC Constitution. The mission is to replace “minimally adequate education” to “high quality education” as our state education standard.

Hopefully, a million people, like you and I, will sign the petition, (and ask our family and friends to do so) urging the SC Legislature to put the constitutional amendment on the 2010 general election ballot so that the people can vote on it.

I encourage you go to www.goodbyeminimallyadequate.com to sign the petition and forward information about this effort to your friends and families.

Billy Keyserling
billyk@islc.net

Snippets from some notes I received in response to my comments on Riverview:
“We “won” the lottery back in the spring and could not be any more pleased with our first day of school! i, too, went to grade school at battery creek elementary and the halls have changed dramatically! what a great time- what an incredible vision- and what a blessing to be a part of it! it is going to be an incredible year!” From A Parent

“The one thing I have always told people, when they ask how and why I have — literally — committed my life to this effort, is that I hope that what I am doing inspires others to do the same. For education, for the environment, for social justice, for those in need, for whatever cause they hold dear. All that I’ve done, and continue to do, will be a failure only if no one else chooses to take up a mantle to making their community better. ” From a Founding Board Member

“I was so happy and excited for her (daughter) on this first day of an amazing journey….but a little sad to see my girl officially on her way to growing up. And then it came into focus how all the different shapes, sizes and colors of students there were probably all a little nervous on their first day, accompanied by their parents or guardians from all parts of Beaufort County with a technicolor palette of backgrounds and dreams. We were all there together, diving into the reality of a place that was sparked first in our hearts and minds…a place called Riverview that promises a wonderful education for precious children.”
From a Parent

“The next lesson is to watch and see what personal investment of time, energy, heart & soul, right down to sharpening the pencils, will mean to the future scholastic successes for the school. I’ll guess that the increased sense of ‘ownership’, together with actually knowing the teachers, administrators, and children will make ALL THE DIFFERENCE in the world. I bet these children will learn faster and achieve more. Let’s keep tabs on them. ” From an Interested resident who has nothing to do with Riverview.
“I think Riverview is great and hope to see more of the same in the future.” From a grandfather whose grand children do not live in Beaufort.

“I believe that this could be the best thing that has ever happened to the Beaufort County School District. The irony is overwhelming. It’s not about spending more money or building new facilities, rather it’s about energizing a community of parents, teachers, students and volunteers from all walks of life to take ownership in a school and the education of our children.I really hope the district will embrace this and see it as a success story to be proud of instead of fighting it at every turn. Our challenge now will be keeping in downtown!” From A Parent

“Someone has got to get every local and regional politician in there ASAP to see the result of all of this hard work.” The group of people that made this happen are amazing and inspiring. The OCR review was a tough thing to wade through, but Riverview is a better school for having gone through it. We wanted our children to attend a diverse school and now it is and will continue to be going forward.” From a Parent

” I especially liked your words ” it doesn’t take a new building to make a new school” Indeed the “greenest” building possible is often a renovation!” From a Friend who is an Architect in Missouri

“I love that you’re bringing attention to the positive things going on in a local school. I hope that you will visit more Beaufort county schools, so you can see the amazing teaching and learning that is taking place all over this county with students from all walks of life. There are so many dedicated professionals making an impact on our community everyday. Thanks for putting education on the front burner where it belongs” From Beaufort County Public School Teacher and Mother

When schools opened this morning, there was a new kid on the block. It is called Riverview Charter School.

Riverview is actually not a “new school” in the sense that new schools are new buildings equipped with the latest technology, large and lush playgrounds, new furnishings and construction budgets funded with bonds retired over a period of time by special property taxes.

Housed in a fiftyish year old retired elementary school, Riverview is Beaufort’s newest innovation in public education. It was a vision conceived, nurtured and now born through a fusion of parent involvement, community outreach, modest private financial support, unprecedented public engagement, guidance from the school district and a tireless very public campaign. Riverview was initiated and sustained by a few (maybe a handful at the outset) caring parents who, with the many they inspired to join them along the way, sustained the effort over the past several years.

No matter what obstacles they faced, the day to day challenges dealing with state and local officials, finding a suitable and affordable facility, scheduling public meetings in places that would reach the largest and broadest numbers of citizens, squeezing very limited public dollars, failure was not an option.

Without new bricks and mortar or any additional public expense, Riverview instills a renewed enthusiasm and engagement with public education in Beaufort County.

I visited the school three days before opening. Though I attended what was then called Battery Creek Elementary School on Burroughs Avenue when I was a child, I barely recognized it with it’s seemingly spit shined floors, sparkling clean windows, freshly painted walls and most importantly the glow of smiling volunteers, teachers and students putting on the finishing touches before opening day: cleaning, assembling and placing furniture in classrooms, installing books on shelves, placing colorful instructional materials on the walls. I even saw a five year old, sitting quietly at a table sharpening pencils so her classmates would be ready to go when the bell rang.

There was a sense of purpose and an excitement that within a matter of only three days, the long chased dream would become a reality. They were rightfully proud that the within those walls represents a revival of at least one public school.

I hope it becomes contagious.

Some lessons learned:

• It does not take a new building to create a new school

• Parents, committed to working within, rather than abandoning, public education, make a difference.

• There is room within the public school system to make changes necessary to reenergize education without investing huge amounts of new money

• A community vision, steadfast parental engagement, creativity and hard work lead to results

• Our Beaufort County School District can and will hopefully continue to embrace new ways to solve ongoing challenges

• Relief from seemingly arbitrary and outdated state regulations (as permitted for charter schools) can make room for new
opportunities to address local and statewide educational challenges

Learning from these lessons, other parents, community leaders, and our dedicated and hard working teachers and administrators can be inspired to incite and invest this kind of attention and love into public schools.

There is no doubt that all parents do not have the time or the resources to invest as many in the Riverview family did. Furthermore, it is possible the charter model does not fit all situations. But, that is all the more reason why we, as a community of parents who have school aged children and those who don’t, businesses who want to invest in our community, retirees who want to make a difference in their new home town and many, many others should roll up our sleeves and get to work.

We have a new model for public engagement as a means for unleashing the potential in our community. And I am sure others that are equally innovative and challenging will follow.

Let’s take advantage of the lessons from Riverview’s and renew our commitment and determination to give the best we can to those who will follow us. Our Children!

The sun is out from behind the clouds. Let’s take advantage of it.

The City’s tired residential garbage trucks were parked to rest last week, while Waste Pro, a highly service oriented contractor, assumed the responsibility of collecting garbage, yard debris and recyclables. While I am confident we made the right decision and selected the right vendor, I expected some bumps in the road during the transition.

Notwithstanding door to door leaflets and newspaper advertisement explaining delivery schedules, I felt certain I would hear about problems. I was pleasantly surprised to receive only three calls which questions and not complaints. Wondering if I was missing something, I canvassed Council colleagues each of whom had the same experience. The City Manager provided the following in his weekly report.

“The transition of residential waste services to Waste Pro started Monday, August 3rd. As of 9 PM Thursday August 6th, approximately 3360 homes have been serviced with all three services (garbage, yard debris and recyclables.) Staff received 3 complaints for missed garbage and 2 complaints for missed recycling pickups. . Two of the complaints for missed garage were on days the residents were not scheduled for pick up. However, Waste Pro resolved the issue by promptly picking up the material. On Monday we received a report that a Waste Pro truck was leaking liquid form the trash compartment. The truck is new and this was the first day in service, a drain plug had worked loose. Waste Pro mechanics quickly corrected the problem. Since the transition, there have been 49 requests for Recycling Bins outstripping the City’s available inventory. 200 new bins have been ordered with a three week delivery time.”

It appears the transition so far is almost seamless. The better news is that it appears almost 50 families want to start recycling.

As we move into week two and beyond, there will likely be glitches, concerns will arise and complaints will need to be reported so they can be addressed. For the quickest results go to www.cityofbeaufort.org where there is a link (about half way down the left side of the page) to the Waste Pro reporting system. If you would prefer the telephone, simply call 843-645-4100. Finally, please feel call us and will help get your report into the system.

The City monitors the Waste Pro system reporting system and has access on a 24/7 basis. We have been guaranteed a timely response to complaints and have the ability to ensure this happens. So, please report problems if you have them. Without knowing there is a missed pickup, that debris was not handled properly or that you need a recycling bin, Waste Pro cannot respond. This highly advanced system is yours, so please do not hesitate to use it.

On another, but related, subject, savings from outsourcing waste removal, the reorganization of resources within the public works department and a seasonal contract with an outside vendor presented another pleasant surprise. Many have already noted a more aggressive and thorough maintenance of rights of way of State roads. Additionally, you should soon see that public works staff will be able to be even more focused on parks maintenance and managing a broad array of public works challenges that were too often placed on a back burner due to limited resources. This is but another benefit from our decision to outsource some garbage pick up.

These and other changes can only succeed if we get feedback from the residents. So, please let us know your thoughts by emailing us with concerns and, better yet, suggestions. .

Billy Keyserling
Mayor
billyk@islc.net

Engage in Your Community

While many governments are facing today’s economic uncertainty like deer frozen staring into the headlights of an oncoming car, your city leaders are taking a different approach.

We Tightened the Belt
Rather than waiting for a magical economic recovery, City Council seized the opportunity to explore new ways to do more with less. Like many families, adjusting the way we live during hard times, we decided what is most important, asked if there are new ways of doing the business of government and determined what we can live without.

In a timely and proactive manner, we made budget adjustments necessary to keep City finances “healthy” despite unanticipated fall in revenue. City departments reduced staff without sacrificing service. Our Police and Fire Chiefs are focused on creating even more efficient operations while maintaining necessary levels of service.

After mid year budget cuts, we ended the fiscal year in the black.

Collaboration
After more than three years of negotiation, Town of Port Royal, Beaufort County and City of Beaufort representatives completed a Northern Regional Plan which establishes growth boundaries to end “annexation wars.” Our next step is for all local governments to work collaboratively to explore ways to more efficiently deliver services.

Engaging the Citizens
My personal focus is engaging citizens to participate in new ways, thereby harnessing a wealth of knowledge, experience, good will and desire to participate. This too can save money.

One example is an ad hoc committee working on a comprehensive plan for updating what has become sloppy signage coming into and out of Beaufort and Port Royal. In past days we hired consultants to do what citizens can do.

Another volunteer driven mission is the Northwest Quadrant Task Force which will propose a plan to preserve and grow the center of our city while ensuring that current residents and property owners have the opportunity to rise with the tide of change rather than being swept away which is what often happens through gentrification. This is long overdue, and thanks to volunteers, we did need consultants.

Yet another example of citizen engagement arose last week when an email complaining that a city park needed maintenance attention was forwarded to The Pigeon Point Neighborhood Association which very quickly mobilized volunteers for a park clean up day. While the city beat them to the mission, and the clean up day became unnecessary, my point is that citizens are ready to respond to a community needs if the event government cannot address them in a timely matter. Hooray Neighborhood Associations.

Among those who have lived here and those who have joined us, Beaufort has exceptionally talented people ready to become even further engaged to help our elected officials and staff.

The challenge for government is to learn how to more effectively engage a ready and willing citizenry. It is in this spirit that Beaufort will continue to move forward while others are waiting for a bailout from elsewhere.

I invite you to join us. Give me a call, send me an email or stop me on the street. But when you present a new “idea”, be prepared for me to ask you to go to work. We have many challenges and opportunities during these financially challenging times. You can make a huge difference.

Billy Keyserling