Ragin plans to open charter; 3 finalists named for teacher of year

SCHOOL BOARD CHAIR PLANS TO OPEN PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

The board chairman for Sumter School District is also the planning committee chairman for a newly approved tuition-free, public charter school that is scheduled to open in Sumter in a little more than a year.

On April 23, the Charter Institute of Erskine's Board of Directors officially approved the application for Rise Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (RISE) to open locally for the 2026-27 school year, and Sumter school board Chairman Shawn Ragin is leading the effort, according to documentation obtained by The Sumter Item.

Ragin already operates and serves as headmaster of a private school, Ragin Preparatory Christian Academy, at 68 Market St. in the City of Sumter that has about 200 students. The school is commonly known as Ragin Prep and is a religious-focused school.

According to his charter application, Ragin Prep will modify its educational model to only serve students in K-5, and RISE will educate students in grades 6-12 and plans to open initially with 350 students. The charter school's focus will include cultivating innovation, leadership and community engagement in students.

Ragin said he has taken all necessary steps to ensure transparency by communicating with Sumter School District Superintendent William Wright Jr. and local and state representatives before submitting his application. The application deadline to the state Department of Education was Feb. 1.

He added he has decided to not seek re-election to the school board in November 2026, when his four-year term concludes.

Some board members, including Area 8 Trustee Phil Leventis, see a potential conflict of interest in Ragin's intentions to open the new public school and still serve on the Sumter School District board. Three local residents also spoke of their concern during public participation at the board's May 5 board meeting.

However, in a May 1 statement, Ragin's legal counsel asserted current state law presents no inherent legal conflict for an individual to serve on the local school district board while simultaneously planning to establish and eventually contribute to a public charter school, provided that no official actions are taken as a board member that directly involve, influence or advantage the proposed charter school.

Ragin added he plans "to maintain a clear and absolute distinction between my responsibilities as a board member and any personal onus," or responsibilities with the new charter school.

DISTRICT NAMES 3 FINALISTS FOR TOP TEACHING HONOR

Sumter School District honored many of its finest educators at its annual Celebration of Excellence event at Lakewood High School Fine Arts Center on May 1.

The district uses the teacher recognition ceremony to honor the immediate past, current and new campus Teachers of the Year for the upcoming school year for its 26 schools. Campus Teachers of the Year serve two years on the Sumter Teacher Forum, where they learn from others, sharpen their skills and take best practices back to their schools.

Also, like at each Celebration of Excellence, the district named its 2025-26 Honor Roll Teachers who are the finalists for the district Teacher of the Year award.

They include Kia Smith, a culinary arts management teacher at Sumter Career and Technology Center; Shelly Stokes, a third-grade teacher at Alice Drive Elementary; and Christina Talbert, a fifth-grade math and science teacher at Wilder Elementary.

All three said building relationships with students and watching them grow is their favorite part of teaching.

Both Smith and Talbert are in their 10th year of teaching, while Stokes is in her 25th year in education.

At the honorary event, Smith also won the district's Shirley Tomlin Award for community service, and Stokes won the Suzanna Foley Award for content lesson preparation.

District administration will announce the district Teacher of the Year in late July at its annual opening meeting for the new school year.

WILSON HALL EARNS PURPLE STAR DESIGNATION

In a move to strengthen an already good partnership with the military, Wilson Hall achieved the state's top school honor for connection and relationship to military families on April 23.

Representatives from the South Carolina Military Interstate Children's Compact Commission and the state Military Child Education Coalition recognized the school with the Purple Star designation at the Wilson Hall campus. In the process, Wilson Hall is just the second South Carolina Independent School Association school to earn the honor.

The Purple Star designation is a top honor and brings an ease to military members and their families when transitioning into a new area, according to Kim Priester, commissioner of the state Department of Education's children's compact commission.

Criteria for the designation are the same for public and private schools in South Carolina, she added, and includes having a trained, designated school liaison for military families to support issues including relocation, deployment and academic training.

Additionally, a school or district must have a whole section of its website devoted to military families, a group of students trained to be ambassadors paired with new military-connected children and offer its staff professional development to support military families, Priester said.

Sumter School District also has the Purple Star designation, earning it in December 2020.

Among the SCISA ranks, Thomas Sumter Academy in Rembert is the only other school with the designation of about 150 schools in the state.

Sumter's Liberty STEAM Charter School was also the first Purple Star-designated public charter school in South Carolina, achieving the honor in February 2024.