COLUMBIA, S.C. — With the November election weeks away, Democrat Sylvia Wright is pressing a four-part education plan in her bid to unseat Republican Ellen Weaver as South Carolina superintendent of education. A win would make her the first Democrat to hold the office since Jim Rex was elected in 2006.
Wright lives in Berkeley County and has spent more than 20 years in education. Much of that was in middle school classrooms, where she taught English and social studies in several counties, and she later held district-level jobs in Dorchester County School District 4, coordinating programs and curriculum. Her bachelor’s degree, in middle grades education, is from Fayetteville State University.
Her campaign’s policy book, titled Building South Carolina’s Future, starts with young children. It calls for auditing every state-funded program for young children and their families to root out overlap and waste, then linking the largest investments to two yardsticks: whether children arrive ready for kindergarten and how well they read by third grade.
On testing, the plan would make student growth a core part of the state accountability system, weighing both growth and proficiency when schools are rated, so a school that pulls struggling students forward is recognized. It also proposes a public dashboard on growth and equity for families, with state help for schools assigned in tiers based on need.
The other two pillars cover the teacher workforce and special education. Wright wants recruiting and retention money tied to district plans with measurable benchmarks, aimed at hard-to-staff schools and subjects. For students with disabilities, she proposes support that follows a child from birth into adulthood, backed by more state money beneath the federal IDEA dollars districts already get.
The campaign says new commitments would phase in as the state budget allows, and that federal grants would sit on top of state spending instead of standing in for it.
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