A letter from former Secretary of Education Dick Riley
Dear Friends:
In 2007, I introduced you to a new champion for public education in the state of South Carolina. RISE SC is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of South Carolinians through comprehensive and sustained reform of our public education system. In its first two years, RISE SC proved to be an effective infrastructure through which we heard the voice of citizens who care about public education in our state.
The RISE SC Advocacy Network was active and effective. It helped reform the Education Accountability Act, eliminating PACT and instituting a new and better test that will provide teachers and parents with the information and tools they need to assess where students are and help improve their progress.
Then, as the 2008 election season got underway, RISE SC shifted focus to engage public education supporters in the electoral process. RISE SC launched a massive, statewide voter registration project – GOAL 100%! -- that centered on educators. GOAL 100%! involved more than 100 schools – and nearly 5,000 educators – and was one of the most successful voter registration drives ever conducted through our public schools. RISE SC also provided valuable information, via direct mail, television ads, phone calls and email communications, to voters around the state about candidate voting records and public positions on issues, such as vouchers and tax credits for private schools.
With the voucher issue poised to rear its head once again this legislative session, RISE SC will focus on legislative advocacy and strengthening its grassroots lobbying efforts. South Carolinians have repeatedly rejected vouchers and tax credits that would take badly-needed resources from our State's public schools and give them to private schools, with no accountability for results and no guarantee of accessibility for all students. Yet, well-funded, anti-public education activists are hard at work in our state to advance this agenda. A New York billionaire donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-voucher candidates in 2008 and his efforts were effective. Legislation introduced in 2009 would open the door for vouchers and tax credits, and Governor Sanford has made it clear that taxpayer-funded private school vouchers remain one of his priorities.
RISE SC stands ready to fight for our public schools. Through the RISE SC Advocacy Network, educators and public education supporters from all walks of life will continue to be engaged and empowered to influence lawmakers and help improve our public schools. But they need our help.
I am asking you to become a friend of RISE SC and consider making a financial contribution to help ensure their vital work continues. Your gift – whether it's $10, $100 or even $1000 – will help ensure that we have the support we need to bring about real education reform in South Carolina and keep the voucher and tax credit proponents at bay during this legislative year.
I hope you will take this opportunity to join the thousands of South Carolinians taking part in this new movement to improve our schools.
Sincerely,
Richard W. Riley
