{"id":2426,"date":"2024-08-23T16:29:12","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/?post_type=furman-update&p=2426"},"modified":"2024-08-23T16:53:11","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T16:53:11","slug":"s-c-governors-school-for-the-arts-and-humanities-spark-program-selected-as-a-2024-dick-and-tunky-riley-whatworkssc-award-winner","status":"publish","type":"furman-update","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/news\/s-c-governors-school-for-the-arts-and-humanities-spark-program-selected-as-a-2024-dick-and-tunky-riley-whatworkssc-award-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"S.C. Governor\u2019s School for the Arts and Humanities\u2019 Spark Program Selected as a 2024 Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award Winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR INFORMATION:
\n<\/strong>Claudia Winkler
\nDirector, Marketing and Communications
\nThe Riley Institute at Furman University
\n864.294.3368;\u00a0claudia.winkler@furman.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:<\/p>\n

Greenville, S.C.<\/span> \u2013 <\/span>Spark! Inspiring Tomorrow\u2019s Readers Through Drama<\/span><\/i> has been named the winner of the 2024 Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award, awarded annually by The Riley Institute at Furman University. The award, named after former U.S. Secretary of Education and two-term S.C. governor Richard Riley and his late wife Tunky, recognizes exceptional programs making a positive impact on South Carolina public education.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spark<\/span><\/i> will be honored alongside another Greenville-based program, the Student DREAMERs Alliance (SDA) of the Hispanic Alliance SC, as well as Camp iRock of Pickens County at the 14<\/span>th<\/span> annual WhatWorksSC Award Celebration in Columbia, S.C.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spark<\/span><\/i> is an outreach program of the SC Governor\u2019s School for the Arts and Humanities (SCGSAH) that seeks to use evidence-driven drama strategies to effectively support reading and literacy efforts in elementary schools statewide. Spark is a proud partner of Arts Grow SC and the SC Arts Commission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Carolina is fortunate to have strong, creative, community-based programs that implement unique approaches to student engagement,\u201d said Dr. Cedric Adderley, SCGSAH president. \u201cWe are so pleased to be recognized alongside two other exceptional programs enriching our educational landscape.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Through its partnerships with Arts Grow SC and the SC Arts Commission, <\/span>Spark<\/span><\/i> has served youth across the state with remarkable results. In a controlled study conducted by the University of South Carolina, student participants demonstrated a 20-50 percent range of increased growth in reading test scores compared to non-Spark participants.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Spark<\/span><\/i> is designed to make reading an active experience for students by utilizing drama strategies that bring stories to life,\u201d said Carol Baker, director of outreach and community engagement at SCGSAH. \u201cWhen we hear from teachers that students who are asking for more reading time, are curious about writing, and are collaborating with their peers in new ways, we truly see the connection between joyful learning and academic achievement. It is such an honor to have this work recognized as part of this statewide celebration.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The award celebration will be held at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on October 15<\/span> from 12 to 2 p.m. The luncheon event is open to the public, and tickets and table sponsorships can be purchased <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>. A panel discussion with <\/span>Spark<\/span><\/i> program partners will headline the event.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Riley Institute at Furman University has named Spark! Inspiring Tomorrow\u2019s Readers Through Drama as the 2024 recipient of the Dick and Tunky Riley WhatWorksSC Award. This award honors outstanding programs that positively impact public education in South Carolina. Spark, an outreach initiative of the SC Governor\u2019s School for the Arts and Humanities, utilizes drama strategies to enhance literacy in elementary schools statewide. The program, recognized for its significant success in improving reading scores, will be celebrated alongside other finalists at the 14th annual WhatWorksSC Award Celebration in Columbia, SC, on October 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2429,"template":"","update-categories":[18,45],"class_list":["post-2426","furman-update","type-furman-update","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","furman-update-category-news-release","furman-update-category-whatworkssc-award"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/2426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/furman-update"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/2426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2427,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/2426\/revisions\/2427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"furman-update-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/update-categories?post=2426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}