Guest commentary: Sumter, a Tale of Two Cities: Measuring progress fairly and lifting every student in Sumter

"Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For every man shall bear his own burden. Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teaches, in all good things." Galatians 6:4-6 (KJV)

When the Apostle Paul urged the Galatians to "prove their own work," he reminded believers not to measure themselves by others' results but by the integrity of their own labor. That same principle should guide how we, as a community, read last week's headline about Liberty STEAM Charter School's state-test performance.

The Sumter Item reported that in only its fourth year, Liberty STEAM scored above Sumter School District's average and roughly matched the statewide average in reading and math. That accomplishment is no small matter, and Liberty's teachers, parents and students deserve congratulations for their diligence. Yet Galatians 6 calls us to a deeper kind of comparison, one that builds all children up rather than pitting schools against one another.

1. Compare like with like: If comparisons must be made, the only truly fair academic comparison for Liberty STEAM's elementary grades is Shaw Heights Elementary, a Sumter School District primary campus that serves a student population most similar in age and socioeconomic makeup. It does little good to compare a new K-4 charter school with every district school from downtown Sumter to rural Dalzell, or with schools serving older grades and different neighborhood profiles.

Charter schools are public schools; they are part of, not apart from, the community. When one succeeds, we should learn from it. When another struggles, we should help it. Healthy accountability requires apples-to-apples analysis so we can identify which instructional practices truly make the difference for children who share similar backgrounds and barriers.

2. Call for transparency in demographics and outcomes: Civil-rights organizations, pastors and civic leaders should join in a respectful request: Release the demographic breakdowns behind the test data. How did African American boys perform? Does this explain our prison population? What about students with disabilities, multilingual learners or children from low-income households? Which groups advanced the most, and which still lagged behind?

Those answers matter more than a single composite percentage. Without demographic transparency, we risk celebrating aggregate gains while overlooking pockets of persistent inequity. Data disaggregated by race, income and special-needs status does not divide us; it enlightens us. Sunlight, as they say, is the best disinfectant, and in education, it is the first step toward fairness.

3. Celebrate genuine progress: We should also take a moment to celebrate the Sumter School District's own growth. According to the same state testing data, districtwide reading proficiency for grades 3-4 rose nearly 10 percentage points from 2024 to 2025, outpacing the statewide improvement rate. That gain represents real teachers in real classrooms working long hours, retraining in phonics-based literacy and rewriting lesson plans to meet tougher standards.

Progress is progress. The men and women serving in our district schools, many of them neighbors, church members and mentors to our children, deserve recognition for that improvement. A rising tide in Sumter should lift both our district and our charter boats together.

4. Confront the challenge we still face: While test-score gains are encouraging, we must not become comfortable with averages. Behind every percentage lies a child's story, and for every student who met or exceeded expectations, another did not. Hundreds of third- and fourth-graders in Sumter County are still reading below grade level or struggling with foundational math facts. Those children cannot wait for next year's press release.

Our collective question must be: What are we prepared to do for the students who did not meet standards?

That question transcends the walls of any one school. It calls for volunteers willing to tutor, churches willing to open after-school spaces, businesses willing to sponsor reading corners and retired educators ready to return as mentors. It calls for parents to attend board meetings, not just to applaud scores but to demand targeted interventions and smaller group instruction for those left behind.

5. Build a united front for children: Competition can motivate excellence, but cooperation sustains it. Sumter has room for both charter innovation and district renewal. We should share best practices. Liberty's data-driven "intervention boot camp" could inform district efforts, just as the district's new "Reading to Learn Initiative" could help charters strengthen early literacy.

Faith leaders have a vital role to play. Pastors can remind congregations that education is not a spectator sport. Civic groups can host public forums where parents compare resources, not reputations. When families understand the numbers, they can advocate more effectively for their children.

6. Keep perspective and keep working: Charter schools operate with roughly 70 cents on the public-school dollar. They fundraise to fill the gap; the district relies on property-tax revenue. Both face teacher shortages, transportation challenges and the daily realities of poverty. Instead of fueling division, we can focus on solutions that benefit everyone: early-childhood literacy, parental engagement, career-tech readiness and teacher pay parity.

The promise of public education, whether district-run or charter-governed, is to provide every child with the tools to read, reason and rise. Meeting that promise will take more than test prep; it will take prayer, partnership and persistence.

7. A community call to action: Let this year's testing season become a turning point. Let Sumter's churches adopt schools for mentoring drives. Let neighborhood associations sponsor "Family Math Nights." Let businesses reward attendance and academic growth. And let all of us taxpayers, teachers, parents and policymakers commit to reviewing not only scores, but also the stories they tell.

In the spirit of Galatians 6:4-6, may we each "prove our own work" by ensuring that every Sumter child, regardless of zip code or school logo, can read with confidence, solve with curiosity and dream without limitation. Then, and only then, will we have true rejoicing not because one school outperformed another, but because together we fulfilled our responsibility to all of God's children.

God Bless USA #A united Sumter

Reginald Evans is from Sumter.