My vision in starting Midlands STEM Institute was to provide a tuition free, cutting edge educational option for the parents and children of Fairfield and the surrounding counties, while preparing the children for their future whether it be the workforce, the military, technical college or a four year university and at the same time provide a talented workforce for the current and future employers of the county. Almost three years ago I began to think about starting a tuition free public charter school in Fairfield County. At that time I had become politically active and had attended a few meetings where JW Ragley and Neil Mullein had spoken briefly about charter schools. My son’s kindergarten teach Lori Jenkins Watkins (I went to high school with her at Whitmire High School .) at online Connections Academy had seen some of my Facebook posts about school choice and suggested that I should start a charter school. At Connections’ Winter Festival Mrs. Watkins introduced me to Clay Eaton, the Communications Director at the South Carolina Public Charter School District (SCPCSD). We decided to meet to discuss the idea of opening a Charter School in Fairfield County. In January of 2012 I met with Mr. Eaton and SCPCSD Superintendent Dr. Wayne Brazell. Although the deadline for gaining approval for the Fall 2013 school year was fast approaching in May of 2012, I was strongly encouraged to apply and meet that deadline. After briefly working with an administrator and realizing that he was not a good fit, I began looking for another administrator. In my search for a diverse board of directors, my mother in-law Jan Rampey told me to meet with a Fairfield county African-American business owner. I did and he and I discussed my vision of a charter school in Fairfield County. He told me he knew the right person to help me out with my dream. He said “You have to call Marie Milam”. I met with her, she joined our board of directors and the rest is history. I added other people to the board along the way, John Peoples, a retired federal employee originally from Fairfield County with experience in the local schools, Elementary school teacher Emily Estep, Real Estate Agent Wanda Carnes (With our facility issues, that was a brilliant move on my part.), local businesswomen John Combie and parent Vanessa Reynolds. The charter school approval process usually takes 18 nths and we attempted to do it in less than four. Although we were unsuccessful in gaining approval in our first attempt, we were successful the next year and in June of 2013 we received approval to open in the Fall of 2014. Perseverance and Faith were definitely the keys to our success. We overcame many obstacles over the last 14 month, a bond issue that the local county government tried to prevent from even having a public hearing on even though their own administrator assured them they had not liability in. We also overcame a facility that was to be remodeled by a developer, who could not have the facility completed by a contractually obligated deadline. We faced challenges from the local school schools in the area that saw our school as competition. We then began a search for a temporary facility and on numerous occasions we thought we had a facility selected only to have the carpet pulled from under our feet. We looked at multiple local churches, other buildings in the county and even discussed the idea of starting the school in portables, which has been done in South Carolina before. We ultimately were referred to Rockton Baptist Church by one of our parents. After meeting with the pastor and members of the church we came to an agreement. After presenting to the congregation and them voting to lease their building to us, we had a school. The South Carolina Public Charter School District gave us a deadline to execute a signed lease of Wednesday July 9. On Tuesday July 8th the Midlands STEM Institute Board of Directors met and voted to sign the lease agreement. Talk about cutting it close. In hindsight, finding the temporary facility was the easy part. We then had to bring the facility up to code for the Office of School Facilities. Luckily we had Dennis Corporation in our corner. We employed them for the design portion of the remodel along with Gregg Douglas as the contractor. Both Dennis Corporation (Dan Dennis, Heyward Mattox and Frank Hribar) and Gregg Douglas went above and beyond to get the school to pass inspection on time. The Certificate of Occupancy was issued on Friday August 22. We also could not have opened the school without the assistance and guidance of Pastor Jimmy Jones and Pastor Jimmy Burroughs. They were great resources and visionaries who helped us think past a few obstacles. We also had a great crew of parents, grandparents and volunteers in addition to Midlands STEM Institute’s staff, teachers, administrators and board of directors. We have all persevered to overcome the many obstacles to opening up something new in Fairfield County. We offer parents a safe environment with certified teachers and a curriculum like no other in the area. Our K-5th grade school will add a grade each year until we offer a K-12 education. We finally have public school choice in Fairfield County. We know many parents at the Fairfield County public schools as well as Richard Winn are waiting to see how our first year goes and then they will consider enrolling their child at our school and we invite you to join us at any time. If during this school year you think a change to MSI might be in the best interest of your child, come talk to the Mrs. Milam. Although I had the vision for the school and began this long process almost three years ago, we would not be opening this Fall if it was not for Mrs. Marie Milam. Her dedication to the children of Fairfield County is at the core of her being. She worked many 20 plus hour days in her effort to get this school opened on time. Her knowledge, educational expertise and ability to get things done set her apart from anyone I have met in the education arena. When you see her on the streets of Winnsboro, please thank her for making this happen. She was definitely Godsent. With persistence and Gods will, We Did It! If you feel so led to donate to Midlands STEM Institute please do so at https://fundraise/midlandsstem , we receive federal and state tax dollars but no local county money. We operate on a conservative budget and get the money into the classroom where it belongs and not in administrative bureaucracy. Kind regards, Kevin Thomas Board Chairman Midlands STEM Institute
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 09:16:58 +0000
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