08 21 25 We speak with Lt Gov Pamela Evette and SC Super of ED Ellen Weaver!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Jonathan and Kelly Show. Bolton Rogers. For
the first time in a long time, DC has gone
seven days without a homicide. Carjackings are down eighty three percent.
Robberies are down forty six percent. Kelly Nash and Kelly Show.

(00:21):
They're screaming for their criminals. We got to keep the
criminals get out of my city. You're running the criminals
out around here. That was at Union Station.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
That is like a very well to do mel Gibson
screaming freedom in his mind, that's what's happening. In his mind.
He's freeing the poor black people of DC by getting
rid of the security measures.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
You know, it's easy to stand there in protest to
make sure that we have freedom for the illegal alias
who are here, no matter how many times they've been
caught sexually assaulting children and whatever it is that they do.
Now everybody's got their own wheelhouse. They're demonstrating that for you,
it's it's easy to get out and protest that in
the streets of DC when Trump's already sent in the
National Guard to make sure it's safe enough for you

(01:06):
to stand there and scream without somebody coming by and
putting a gun to your head and taking your car.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, you know, that's an ironic point that you make there, Jonathan.
Maybe some of these people wouldn't have felt as safe
coming down at the National Guard. And i'd actually been there.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
You wouldn't have seen either one of those two idiots.
The girl who's screaming for world peace, free health care,
free housing, well it wasn't world peace. She wanted to
global climate control.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
She wanted to free Palestine, Free Palestine.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
You would not have seen that that girl out there
at Union Station at any point screaming anything other than
help me God, while some predator tried to pull her
into the corner, or just to reveal the National Guard
got there.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, I mean, that's an incredible stat not one murder,
carjackings down eighty three percent in a week. I mean,
it's pretty impressive what's going on. And I would imagine
you're going to see the Trump administration kind of not
only reveling in that success, but they're going to start
rolling that out. Hey, you know what, maybe Atlanta needs
a little help.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Maybe Chicago could use a little help on the south side.

Speaker 2 (02:15):
How about you, Baltimore, Are you just up the street.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Exactly and all just wait for the protest. The screams
and the mariachi bands and the guad Americans, they'll all
be coming out in support of the illegal immigrants.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
I think what we really need, though, Jonathan, because this
is going to be very temporary unless you get judicial
reform and that the people who are caught and are
being sent in front of judges, they actually need to
go to jail.

Speaker 1 (02:42):
That's the problem, is it.

Speaker 2 (02:44):
Right now, they got the no bail, they've got the
very lenient sentencing guidelines for people. I mean, I was
listening to some radio show the other day and they
were playing a clip and I was like, in my mind,
I was like, is that Ai?

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Did that really happen?

Speaker 2 (02:58):
And it was what was the old Press Secretary's lady,
not the one who circled back, the one who's a
historic figure Zucky.

Speaker 1 (03:05):
Yeah, the historic figure.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
Oh, I've already forgotten her name, the historic figure. Three
letters we use for her, first lesbian, first African Americans.

Speaker 1 (03:15):
She's very his historied. I am so proud of the
fact we can't remember her name.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
But she was making the point that we're partnering here
at the Biden administration. We're partnering with our with our
partners in law enforcement in order to reduce the sentences
for and she led off with murderers, sexual predators, and
armed robbery. We're going to make sure we get them
out on the streets sooner. That was the that was

(03:40):
their problem. I was like, did that really happen? And
sure enough, if you look it up, you can see
that press conference.

Speaker 1 (03:45):
We may have time to get back into some of that,
but we got two interviews lined up for you today
and we first we're going to hear from our Superintendent
of Education. Always want to say secretary. It's the Superintendent
of Education at the State of South Carolina. LM. Weaver.
But we begin with this Kelly mash. We'll come on
the phone, our Lieutenant Governor and your current guide on

(04:06):
the Keep South Carolina Great Tour. You're a tour guide,
Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evatt, Hey.

Speaker 3 (04:13):
Good morning, Good morning. I do like being the tour guide.
I feel like for the last six and a half years,
I have made it a point to get myself around
the state to talk to everybody, because guys, can I
say this all the time, like if you look geographically,
we're not this huge state, right, We're not like Florida

(04:33):
or California. Thank God, We're not like California. But you
have to really get around the state and shake people's
hands because every region has such different issues and things
that are important to them. I always say, like I
make a joke. I'm like, being a mom of three
has really helped get me ready for this job, because

(04:54):
you know, when you have three kids, they always think
you like the other ones better. Right, You're like, oh,
you love Amanda better because you know blah blah blah.
That's how it is when you move around the state. Right.
So it's like if you're if I'm in Greenville, it's like, oh,
you love the Midlands, you love Charleston, what about Greenville.
If you're in Charleston, they say, you love Greenville, you

(05:17):
love Ori County. What about us? It's like, no, you
can love everybody the same. You just all have different issues.
So it's important. So, Yes, kicked off kicked off my tour.
I started in rural South Carolina because guys, I'm telling you,
I'm saying this everywhere I go. We have got to

(05:40):
We've got to look at the resiliency of our farmers
and we have to realize the tough challenges that they have.
And when I sat down at my farmers round table,
they were like, listen, commodity prices are low. We know
the President is working hard to get that up. And
we talked about corn. Four dollars a bushel is what

(06:02):
corn is? Commodity price going for the farmer's break even
price is five dollars. Wow, it's it's it. They're they're
losing money. And they're like, I don't think people realize this.
And I and I said to them as I was
listening and listening, I said, I want to do a
better job of conveying to people. You are so resilient

(06:27):
that you don't complain anybody else, any other business owner
maybe in a crying, curled up mess on the floor
with that news. But you guys, you just keep planning
and harvesting and moving on and figuring it out. And
because you don't make this, you know, wild scene about

(06:50):
the plight you're going through, nobody is focused on it.

Speaker 2 (06:54):
We're talking with the Lieutenant Governor, Pam la Eviantt. So
you talk about these farmers and how their you know,
commodity prices have dropped significantly, so now they're actually losing
money on corn, for example, in South Carolina, What is
a proposal that you would put forth to maybe help
the farmers get those prices up, and understanding that that's
going to cost you know, other South Carolinians more at

(07:14):
the grocery store, I would.

Speaker 3 (07:15):
Assume, well, absolutely, guys, I think you know, when you're
talking about commodities, let's be honest, that's that's more of
a federal kind of issue. But having a great relationship
with President Trump and his administration, and that's what the
farmers were really asking is not like Lieutenant governor, solve
our problem. It was please get our problem up to

(07:36):
the president, because we know he cares, and in his
tariff talks, he's trying to make it so that farmers
aren't so hard hit. But what we have to do
is we have to make sure that there's not legislation
in our states that hinders them. Like I was out
in Iowa last year and was hearing about a bill

(07:57):
and it's so funny, Like I'm hearing about a bill
that California is trying to pass that would only allow
pork to come into their state that was basically raised
in a certain way.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
Like in a five Star Hotel.

Speaker 3 (08:13):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, and farmers are like, you know, they
were speaking to us, they were giving a presentation. They
were like, listen, we are hog farmers. This is what
we've done for generations. This is not sustainable. And so
I kind of said, listen, I'd be happy to go
back to my state. We love bacon and sausage, and
I will ask every South Carolinian to buy an extra

(08:35):
pack at the grocery store every week. Don't sell it
to California. And when they can't get bacon and sausage
for breakfast, then maybe it'll turn around. But that's just
an example of how a state can make a state
law that could impact farmers all over, right, because they
buy a lot of that product, and so it's always

(08:57):
being vigilant is what we should do in our state
to help farmers. But I think the other thing is
to bring awareness and to say, listen, there are local
farmers everywhere, at local farmer markets. Let's not forget those things.
Let's go there. Let's go there on a Saturday morning
and support our farmers. Let's make sure that we're doing
everything we can to support and buy local, which as

(09:20):
a small business person myself or started out as a
small business person. That's important, and we've seen that with
buy local, Shop local, it's become a movement. We just
need to encourage everybody to look at our farmers too
in that movement, and not just our local businesses on
main Street.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
I was reading in the newspaper. You can explain it
to you better that we have you on the phone.
Talk to me about the halo wag.

Speaker 3 (09:45):
Yeah. So I was sitting down and I was meeting
with a gentleman who said, Hey, there's this bill. It
got passed, and I said, tell me more about it,
because a lot of times when bills are in the
infancy stages, I'm not digging in or I would spend
every moment of every day looking at bills that people
were proposing. But this bill made such common sense. Guys.

(10:09):
This you know, if you turn on the TV, you
see if a protest is happening, protesters getting right up
on our law enforcement, whether it be state, local, or
ice right national, and they're in their face. Well, a
law enforcement officer has to protect their gun, protect themselves,
protect the people around them while somebody has a camera

(10:31):
is screaming in their face. But the halo Act does
is it says, when law enforcement officers are in the
process of doing their duty right, they can tell you
to get twenty five feet back and you have to
or you could be arrested. And that to me made
such common sense that I said, you know what, I'm

(10:55):
going to go out. I'm going to look for who
sponsored the bill, and Representative Forrest, Representative Hixton came out,
they were sponsors on the bill. Sheriff Roland, we were
going to be in Edgefield, we were looking at his
new state of the art correctional facility, which is amazing,

(11:18):
and I said, let's have a press conference on this, like,
let's get because you know, for as long as I've
been on your show, I've always been an advocate of
positively reaching out. I say that positively to your representatives
that you elect for things that you feel passionately about.
And so I took a piece of my own advice
called for a press conference that everybody, this is something

(11:40):
South Carolina should be behind. It's not all about just
paying our law enforcement more. It's about keeping them safe
so they can get home to their families. And I
believed in my heart that this was a bill that
would help keep our law enforcement safe.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
We're talking with the Lieutenant Governor, Pamela Evatt, and you're
running to be the governor, and I'm wondering. Thankfully, a
hurricane Aaron did not do really much here. But there
was great concern by the Democrats when the current governor,
Henry McMaster sent two hundred South Carolina National Guardsmen to
d C, leaving US with only nine thousand National Guardsmen.

(12:17):
Would you have made the same decision and were you
worried that it might backfire?

Speaker 3 (12:22):
I was not worried for a second, and I absolutely
would have made that same decision. You know, the governor
and I have always been, you know, on our decisions
pretty much lockstep. And so when President Trump needed assistant,
South Carolina has always been there to help. We sent
guardsmen to the border, and now we've sent guardsmen to DC.

(12:44):
And I hope guys with the Democrats keep acting as
ridiculous from now until the midterms in twenty six as
they are today. I mean, I turned on the TV
this morning, Vice President vance Secretary of Hexas going down
to union station and protesters yelling and screaming at them.

(13:06):
It's like, people, have you lost your mind? Like you're
literally advocating for drug dealers and rapists and robbers.

Speaker 1 (13:14):
But jd.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
Vance pointed out that most of them basically it looked
like a Woodstock reunion. This is all the hippies of
the sixties had gathered, yes, and it's.

Speaker 3 (13:23):
It's crazy, like in what world. Sometimes I'd turn on
the TV and you know, I talk about my mom
all the time, and she's ninety six, and that's what
she'll say. She just said, I never thought i'd live
to see when people have gotten so stupid. And my
mom doesn't say where it's like stupid very much, but
she is like, I never thought i'd live to see
this day where people are advocating for the wrong things.

(13:47):
Like if they spent this much time and energy taking
care of our elders, you know, taking care of kids,
volunteering and doing good things in their communities, we wouldn't
have half the problems we'd do.

Speaker 1 (14:01):
So from the words of my mom, I know that
there are a lot of efforts now, even I think
every state we had the Cornhusker Clinker actually introduced this
week as actual verbiage for the Department of Justice. Where
are we with the palmudo pen that you had to
proposed and outside of the fact of using it with
the federal government in helping with the deportation effort, but

(14:22):
then have a long lasting impact because I know South
Carolina's had some challenges with our prison system.

Speaker 3 (14:28):
So yeah, so you know, that is something that we're
still looking at, working with the Trump administration on. You know,
the governor has said, we need to find a facility
kind of what they've done in other states, a state
secure away from our citizens, kind of facility that has
already built that we could use the federal dollars that
came out of the Big Beautiful Bill to help fund.

(14:51):
And I encourage everybody when you see Democrats on TV
talking about all the negatives, please do a little research,
because you know, the very first thing that came out
were the Democrats and the liberals saying, oh, now we're
going to use state tax dollars. No, the Big Beautiful
Bill allowed for funding of this. Right, it's the same

(15:12):
thing they tried to say. And what you just talked
about with sending guards men and women down to DC.
Oh my goodness, now there's going to be a hurricane
in South Carolinians are going to be you know, in
danger First of all, the governor said, if a hurricane
was going to hit, we could bring them back, and
we can get them back rather quickly. So it's like stop,

(15:33):
do not let the scare tactics that they try to
throw out there at you work, because it is all
smoke and mirrors. And that's the same thing with everything
you see. Look beyond the clickbait and the headline. Do
a little research, and you'll find you'll sleep better at
night that the Republicans are really doing the best to

(15:54):
take care of you and your children and making America
and South Carolina the best place it can be.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
I only ask that you maybe consider changing it to
the South caaxt Sing Sing That was my suggestion.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
I like that.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
But anyway, you're on your keep South Carolina Great tour.
If people wanted to actually just kind of follow along,
is there like a website or something? How do people
stay in touch?

Speaker 3 (16:19):
Absolutely, my friends, go on to Pamela avit dot com.
You can see we're putting schedules out there where I'm
going to be. I'm working hard to earn your vote
every single day. If you're not already on the team,
you can go out there and sign up be a volunteer.
But look at what I'm doing. I mean, for for
I think maybe two years now. I put out a

(16:41):
quarterly newsletter in my official capacity to to talk about
big businesses and small businesses that I have been to,
issues that are going on around the state. It's very positive.
I hope it makes you feel good about all the
things we're doing. So go on there, sign up for
that newsletter. Look at where we're going to be on
the campaign side, and again, I'd love to have you

(17:04):
on our team. It's this is not just my campaign, friends,
this is a movement to get a business person in office, right,
somebody who's not a career politician, that hasn't spent their
life that can see things with a fresh set of
eyes and a new perspective.

Speaker 1 (17:17):
Is that what you meant? The other day when I
saw the headline and I didn't, could I show actually
an opportunity to read the entire article? He said, you're
different from the rest.

Speaker 3 (17:24):
I am different from the rest.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
You know.

Speaker 3 (17:26):
When I made my announcement, guys, I said, you can.
I think the choice is clear. You can pick from
a conservative businesswoman, a mom of three and a woman
of faith, or you can pick from a list of
career politicians, you can pick somebody who stood with President
Trump from day one, when it wasn't I wasn't even
in politics, so it had nothing to do with furthering
my political career. And and in January of twenty three,

(17:49):
like everybody today, my friends is a Trump supporter, right
like because he's in office, because he's doing a phenomenal job.
But in January of twenty three, when President Trump came
to the State House to announce his candidacy, look at
the pictures. I was the only one running for governor
that was standing by his side when there was no polling,
when everybody thought he was going to get indicted, when

(18:10):
everybody thought he was going to jail, when political consultants
through our national organizations were calling me on my way
down to Columbia, going, you're going to destroy your own career.
You know you shouldn't go, And I was like, listen
for me. I'm a business person and I'm loyal, take
it or leave it. That's who I am at my core.
And I'm going to be with the president. I was

(18:30):
with him from the beginning. I'm going to be with
him now. And I'm the only person that has been
in the executive branch in the public and private sector.
So on day one, I'm ready to go to work
for the people of South Carolina. That's what sets me apart.

Speaker 2 (18:42):
All right, Well, there you go, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evatt,
Happy birthday.

Speaker 3 (18:48):
Thank you you guys very near and dear to me
remembering my birthday.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
Well absolutely, and we love having you call in. We
look forward to our next call with you.

Speaker 3 (18:57):
All right, guys, will you take care. God bless everyone
and stay safe out there. And I look forward to
seeing you in just a few weeks.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
And now, boy, that Jonathan and Kelly super secret Probationary
hotline is hot today. Let me go to this line,
Kelly Dash, walk up on the phone, South caroll out
of the Department of Education Secretary. It is Ellen Weaver.
Good morning, Hey.

Speaker 4 (19:16):
Good morning, y'all. How's it going.

Speaker 1 (19:17):
We're doing great. We should ask you that as we
all get back into the school routine. Thus far as
we introduce our new students to new challenges this year,
what most excites you, Well, I tell you what.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
It is a great start to a brand new school year.
All of our kids are back in school. I should
say with the exception of our Irmo baseball team. How
about that. I mean, wow, what a Cinderella's story. I mean,
representing South Carolina in the proudest possible fashion. We're going

(19:50):
to keep our fingers crossed for continued success. I'm seeing
some world champions here.

Speaker 5 (19:54):
They are great, they really are, they really are.

Speaker 4 (19:57):
But we'll get down back to school, back to school
soon enough. And you know, I've been traveling all over
the state the last couple of weeks in schools welcoming
back teachers and students, and it's just always so exciting
to see the happy look on the faces of the kids,
the you know, smell of new pencils and notebooks in

(20:17):
the air. And you know, I even saw the lone
little kindergartner who had tears running down her face because
she was scared and afraid for her first day of school.
But I saw her teacher give her a big hug,
and it wasn't too long that she was smiling. So
everybody's in the back to school spirit.

Speaker 2 (20:34):
Well, it's exciting. And this is I believe the first
school year, full school year that the kids are going
to go without their phones. Is that correct?

Speaker 1 (20:42):
Is this that is.

Speaker 4 (20:43):
That's exactly right.

Speaker 3 (20:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (20:45):
So our free to focus policy officially took effects in
January of this year, so this will be the first
full school year that it's implemented. And I have to
tell y'all, I am so encouraged by the feedback that
we are from our students and from our teachers. One
great story that I just saw was the high school

(21:07):
kids in one school are now buying disposable cameras. You
remember what those real cameras were, right, They're buying disposable
cameras so that they can take pictures during the school
day while their phones are off and away. So I
actually thought that was brilliant.

Speaker 5 (21:22):
Loved it.

Speaker 1 (21:24):
So I'm assuming, generally reading about the newspaper articles that
I see that the rumors of our demise, as most
Democrats preached in the wake of the Trump administration's closing
in the US Department of Education, have been greatly exaggerated.
Have we seen any incredible ramifications. Are you now seeing
challenges that are insurmountable because of the lack of federal input.

Speaker 4 (21:47):
No, And I will tell you I don't believe in
insurmountable challenges in the first place. I believe where there's
a will, there's a way, as my grandma used to say.
But to your point, I know, we've never seen the
mainstream media exaggerate anything before, so this has come as
a great shock to the system. But no, we are

(22:09):
well on our way to a great school year. I
think some of the panic that the media has tried
to instill in folks has leveled out and were, you know,
full speed ahead. As I said in my editorial a
few months ago here in South Carolina, our mission is
to keep calm and educate on and that's exactly what
we're doing.

Speaker 2 (22:29):
Talking with the South Carolina Superintendent of Education, Ellen Weaver,
one problem area for South Carolina has been Jasper County
and recently their board decided they voted to basically put
themselves in extinction because they are no longer going to
fight your move to take over that school district. What

(22:49):
should the people of Jasper County expect now that the
state is going to take over their school district?

Speaker 4 (22:54):
First of all, I want to commend the school board
for making that decision. I believe that in deciding not
to spend more time and taxpayer money fighting this situation,
that they actually did put the best interests of the
children of Jasper County first, and I want to applaud
them for having the courage to make that decision. In

(23:16):
terms of what comes next, we have a phenomenal interim superintendent,
doctor Laura Hickson, who most recently was a superintendent in
Florence County. Recently retired, or at least she thought she
was retiring. We have now put her back into service
and I know she is already has been to all
of the schools. There is reaching out to the community,

(23:38):
talking to business leaders, faith leaders in that community. And
so what Jasper can expect from the Department of Education
is a strong collaborative partner who is going to be
working with the team in that district office to get
the finances of the district back in order and to
put a laser priority focus on student instruction and academic achievement,

(24:02):
which is the only reason our education system exists. And
so I'm pleased to share that. You know, even in
the last year or two, our team at the Department
of Education has been supporting Jasper County with instructional coaching
and we have seen some significant movements in the right

(24:22):
direction as a result of that, and that is going
to continue now and in even more intensive ways. So
I have great hope for Jasper County, and my hope
is based in the fact that I believe in the
students of Jasper County. I believe in the teachers of
Jasper County, and I believe in the family and community
members of Jasper County that they all want what is

(24:42):
best for our children, and that when they are presented
with a strong plan and vision to move the community forward,
that they will rally to that and that we're going
to see great outcomes for kids in that area.

Speaker 1 (24:54):
I know this is not the first time the Department
of Education has had to take such a move with
Jasper County, other districts or other counties who have been
in the similar situation and the aftermath of those decisions.
What have you seen as being most impactful. Was it
the voters awakening of who they're putting in positions of power?
Was it the fact that just coming in with the
disciplinary measure puts the future school board members own? Notice,

(25:18):
what do you think was the biggest benefit that you've
seen in previous situations like that?

Speaker 4 (25:22):
Well, you know, I think that the General Assembly really
working to strengthen the state superintendent's hands in some of
the laws that have passed over the last few years.
Has been really vital because we now have a pathway
for both fiscal challenges as well as academic challenges for
the state superintendent to step into districts in a meaningful way,

(25:44):
and those pathways just weren't open before. And so I
think that as tough as it is to have to
make the decision to go into a local community like
this and for the state to take control of a
school district, I mean, I want your listeners to know
this is certainly not something we take lightly here, and
this is something that we try to avoid at all
possible costs, but sometimes the circumstances simply force us to act.

(26:10):
And I think the fact that districts across the state
can now see that we will act and we will
act seriously, is going to send the right signal to
adults in those communities that they need to take their
fiduciary responsibility to their students and to their taxpayers and
their community seriously.

Speaker 2 (26:30):
Talking with our Superintendent, Ellen Weaver, I recently got to
interview the CEO of SC two to fifty Mali fortune
and even though the nation's two hundred and fiftieth anniversary
is not until July fourth next year. The festivities have
already begun, and she was talking about how they're partnering
with a lot of the school districts to try to
get more information in an exciting way into the schools

(26:53):
kids hands.

Speaker 5 (26:54):
Can you talk a little bit about that, Yes, absolutely, well,
I am so excited for the South Carolina to fit
and I will tell you that my commitment is that
by the end of this anniversary, every child in South.

Speaker 4 (27:07):
Carolina is going to know the important role that South
Carolina played in securing America's freedom. What a lot of
people don't realize, even adults, is that while the American
Revolution started up in Massachusetts and Lexington and conquered, the
hinge of the war was one here on the battlefields

(27:28):
of the Carolinas at Calpens and King's Mountain and Camden
and so many other battles like Sullivan's Island, which is
why we celebrate Carolina Day and how we got our
amazing Palmetto State flag. So we have so much rich
history here in South Carolina as one of the original
thirteen colonies that fought for freedom. And I am so

(27:50):
excited to roll that story out for our students, and
so we are partnering closely with the two fifty Commission.
There's a number of other partners that we are currently
preparing to unveil with some national partners. That will be very,
very exciting. But I see South Carolina really taking a
lead for the rest of the country in this SC

(28:13):
two fifty celebration, and so I'm excited to be part
of it, and we're we're excited to roll out all
of this to our students.

Speaker 1 (28:21):
You know, I've been reading and hearing from the national
media that Donald Trump is doing an incredible job, so
they would say, in whitewashing American history and erasing slavery
in particular, out of our history classes. Have you received
a personal phone call or email or any type of
directive from the administration as to what you will And
we're not.

Speaker 4 (28:39):
Teach in history, No, not at all, And that's just ridiculous.
Our commitment here in South Carolina is to teach the
full and fair facts of history. We acknowledge that there
is much for which we regret here in South Carolina history.
I mean, there is no hiding the fact that at

(29:00):
the port of Charleston was the center of the slave
trade in North America, and that is something that is
a stain upon our state's history most certainly. But what
we have to focus on is not just the sins
of the past. We have to focus on the promise
and hope of the future and how much progress that
we have made in building a shared story here in

(29:24):
the US. And even yesterday here at the Department of Education,
we had a professional development for a new curriculum that
we are rolling out the high school students in South
Carolina that is based on the non violent principles of
doctor Martin Luther King. Doctor King's principles were grounded in

(29:44):
his Christian faith, and so there's a beautiful lesson on
hope that we are going to be rolling out statewide
to any teacher high school teacher in South Carolina who
wants to use that lesson in their classroom. We have
wonderful resource is available with our African American History calendar
that we published each year. This year we focused on

(30:06):
the lives and legacies of the families of the Emmanuel
Nine since this year was the tenth anniversary of that
horrific shooting. So we are doing incredible things to platform
stories of heroism, of entrepreneurship, and of excellence that represent
our African American community here in South Carolina, and that

(30:28):
is something that we will do unapologetically and proudly.

Speaker 2 (30:31):
Superintendent Ellen Weaver, I'm wondering are we still partnered with
Prager you at this point.

Speaker 4 (30:37):
Yes, we still do have a list of resources that
are available on the department's website that are free and
supplemental for any teacher, any private school, any homeschool family
to access. So yes, we still do have that partnership
in place.

Speaker 1 (30:52):
Well, there's a lot of hope, anticipation, and certainly for
the parents as well as the students, a lot of
excitement and the kickoff of another school year with thank
you for your efforts and your information have made readily
available to us, and you're open to take any question.
We appreciate you being so open and honest and making
sure that South Carolina citizenry knows what our South Carolina
Department of Education is doing to prepare our students into

(31:15):
the future.

Speaker 4 (31:15):
Well, I really appreciate that. I truly believe that trust
is the cornerstone of education because our parents have entrusted
our public school system with their most precious asset, and
that is their child, and so I take that trust seriously.
And it's an honor to be able to talk with
you all about both the challenges and opportunities we face
in education here in South Carolina.

Speaker 2 (31:37):
South Carolina Superintendent of Education Ewen Weaver, thank you for
your time.

Speaker 5 (31:40):
Yes, sir, we'll talk to you soon.