Education remains one of the strongest predictors of lifelong opportunity, yet too many South Carolina students lack the learning experiences and supports they need to succeed. Expanding access to high-quality learning opportunities—both inside and outside the classroom—is essential to strengthening student success, preparing future leaders, and building a more prosperous future for our state. The Riley Institute advances evidence-based policies and practices that help ensure every child has the opportunity to learn, grow, and thrive.
30 POINTS
Represents the gap in reading scores between economically disadvantaged fourth graders and their peers.
Source: 2024 NAEP Test
ONLY ONE-THIRD
of South Carolina graduates were considered college ready in 2025.
Source: South Carolina Daily Gazette, S.C. School Report Card
350,000+
children in South Carolina would participate in an afterschool program if one were available.
Source: America After 3PM survey by Afterschool Alliance
What We Do
We advance education quality and access through applied research, leadership development, and strategic convenings. By working with educators, policymakers, and community leaders, we help translate evidence into action that improves outcomes for students and families.
How We Do It
We start with evidence. Our work is guided by research and real-world experience, focusing on what works—not what’s trendy, ideological, or politically expedient. We equip leaders with the data, insights, and connections needed to drive lasting change.
Why Trust Us
For more than two decades, The Riley Institute has worked alongside educators, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to address South Carolina’s most pressing education challenges. As a trusted, nonpartisan partner, we bring together research with expertise from the classroom and community to advance practical solutions that improve outcomes.
Core Initiatives
Each spring, Furman University’s Riley Institute presents the Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award to an outstanding evidence-based program that is positively impacting public education in South Carolina. This award—named after former U.S. Secretary of Education and two-term S.C. governor Dick Riley and his late wife, Tunky Riley—is designed to call attention to exceptional public education programming in the state. Finalists are honored at a statewide celebration held in Columbia each fall, and the top award brings a prize of $10,000.
Discover WhatWorksSC
Our White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship equips participants with a real-world understanding of the art, science, possibilities, and realities of policymaking around afterschool and expanded learning. The White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship is funded through the generous support of the Charles S. Mott Foundation.
Discover WRP
The Riley Institute at Furman and the South Carolina Department of Education have partnered to offer South Carolina Afterschool Leaders Empowered (SCALE), a 10-month fellowship that prepares individuals across the state to be strong leaders in the field of afterschool and expanded learning.
Discover SCALE
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Evidence Matters | Three Things I Learned Using The Riley Institute’s South Carolina Education Data Tool -
Evidence Matters | Understanding the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Practices that Work
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Evidence Matters | Catching Kids Upstream: How Afterschool Programs Reduce Crime and Risky Behavior
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Evidence Matters | Expanding our Understanding of the School Day
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Evidence Matters | Understanding the School-to-Prison Pipeline: How Discipline and Academic Inequality Shape Student Outcomes
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Evidence Matters | Discovering Estonia: Lessons from a Nation Deeply Committed to Education
