The Richland County Public Education Partners

Team members: Derek Black, Doward Harvin, Hannah Honeycutt, Steven Johnson, Dan Koon, Sidney Rex, Ericka Wooten

Project Mission

Partner with a non-profit organization to create a marketing tool that will assist them to potentially expand their reach to other communities and schools within Richland County

Project Description

Several studies have determined that a child must be able to read and comprehend what they read by the third grade to have a successful educational experience. A long-term study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that students who were not proficient in reading by the end of the third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers.

Since 2018, several states have enacted legislation that attempts to deal with this issue through grade retention requirements. These requirements force schools to retain third graders that have not met the third grade reading standards. South Carolina joined these states by enacting a law that retains third graders that fail to demonstrate reading proficiency based on a standardized test.

The Richland County Public Education Partners (RCPEP) decided to approach this issue differently. RCPEP focuses on developing individualized plans with resources to assist individual students with meeting required reading proficiently levels. In addition, they link families to resources they may need to deal with barriers to the student’s ultimate success.

As RCPEP continues to grow and expand to other schools within Richland County, they will need the ability to effectively market their program to stakeholders that will be able to provide them the necessary resources for growth. RCPEP Rally in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield’s video marketing department produced a comprehensive video and informational slides for their use in promoting their successful program and expanding their reach.