Help Spartanburg Charter School Earn $500,000!

The Spartanburg Charter School is competing with schools from across the nation to receive a $500,000 grant through an online competition sponsored by the Kohl’s department store chain.

The Kohl’s Cares for Kids contest allows users of Facebook to determine the winning schools. Spartanburg Charter School is currently ranked 22md in the nation and the contest ends on September 3. The school has attracted more than 104,000 Facebook votes and is the only South Carolina school in the top 100. However, only the top 20 schools will receive a grant, so there is some work left to do to help Spartanburg Charter School.

Facebook users are automatically given 20 votes to cast for schools in the United States. A total of five votes can be cast for a particular school. Here are the steps to vote for Spartanburg Charter School:

1. Log in to Facebook.

2. Search for Kohl’s from within Facebook.
3. Select Kohl’s Cares for Kids.
4. Search for Spartanburg Charter School from the Kohl’s Cares for Kids Facebook page.
5. With the Spartanburg Charter School name selected, cast five votes for the school.

Spartanburg Charter School currently serves 300 students and would use the prize money to renovate the second floor of the school to add more grades for next year.

In addition, be certain to friend Mick on Facebook, join the Mick Zais For Education Group, and “like” Mick Zais on Facebook.

South Carolina Superintendent candidates share views

Which candidate is answering the questions about important education policy issues and which candidate is simply playing politics? Let’s look at the numbers according to an article by Sarita Chourey from Morris News Service.

Total number of words used by Mick Zais: 289

Total number of words used by Mick Zais to attack his Democratic opponent: Zero

Total number of words used by Mick’s Democratic opponent: 226

Total number of words used by Mick’s Democratic opponent to attack Mick: 102 (45% of his total words used)

In November, the differences between the candidates is crystal clear. Mick Zais has dedicated his life to serving others as a military officer, classroom teacher, and as president of a South Carolina faith-based college. In contrast, Mick’s Democratic opponent has dedicated his life to partisan politics serving as State Chairman for the South Carolina Democratic Party, member of the Democratic National Committee, campaign manager for Inez Tenenbaum’s U.S. Senate bid, and as a political appointee in the Clinton Administration in Washington.

Vote for a principled leader, not a politician, for State Superintendent of Education this November: Elect Mick Zais.

South Carolina Superintendent candidates share views

By Sarita Chourey

Morris News Service

Saturday, Aug 28, 2010

Q: How would you be similar or different from outgoing Superintendent Jim Rex?

Zais: Like Dr. Rex, I have experience as an educator and a leader of educators. Dr. Rex has emphasized reforming and supporting schools which are in crisis, something I experienced firsthand at Newberry College. I’m proud to say after 10 years and much hard work, Newberry College has been nationally recognized for its excellence. Unlike Dr. Rex, I have pledged not to run for any other political office. The last two state superintendents of education have used this position as a stepping stone for higher political office, actively campaigning when they should have been focused on the needs of the students.

Q: What is the top reform needed in the way education is funded?

Zais: Funding should be based on the students served, not the programs operated. While holding schools and school districts publicly accountable for their results, the state must recognize the importance of local control in education. Teachers, principals and district superintendents should have the flexibility to meet the needs of their diverse student populations through innovative and creative solutions. Transforming the funding formula to being student-centered will decrease bureaucratic overhead, reduce waste in programs that don’t meet student needs, increase equity between schools, strengthen local control and encourage innovation in our public schools.

Q: Should parents be given vouchers so their children can attend private school?

Zais: The relevant question to me is whether a plan that would give parents targeted tax breaks to send their children to private schools helps or hurts the children of South Carolina. In some areas of South Carolina, parents have access to a full menu of educational options: traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, home schooling, online/virtual schools, single-gender schools, Montessori-style schools, year-round schools, alternative schools for students with discipline problems and privately operated schools. I support all these options, and I believe parents should be able to choose the best educational environment for their child.

Chester News & Observer: Zais has a “calling” for Education

Chester News & Observer

Denyse Middleton, Reporter

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mick Zais, the Republican candidate for South Carolina state superintendent of education greeted about 30 area residents at Anna’s Arbor last week to discuss his “calling” and his personal goal to make public schools better with multiple alternatives.

Zais, who served 10 years as president of Newberry College until this past July, is also a former faculty member of West Point Academy. He served 31 years active service in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper and ranger before he retired at the rank of brigadier general.

“The superintendent of education position is a culmination of a life of things I know I do well,” Zais said. “It’s a way to serve and make a contribution. It’s a calling!”

Zais says he is uniquely qualified for this position.

“I’ve been a teacher and run a school, so I know what it’s like,” Zais said. “I’ve got a successful history of leadership. I know how to lead large, complex organizations.”

Local residents who attended Thursday’s educational forum were a varied group with varied interests.

Richard and Kathleen Vork are Richburg residents and parents of two Lewisville Elementary School students. Richard Vork says he attended the candidate’s forum to find out what Zais would “bring to the table,” if elected as state superintendent.

Vork believes the public school system is flawed with problems of nepotism and administrator longevity, he said.

“School leaders are falling through the cracks at the local level,” Richard Vork said.

Avery Wilks, 17, Zach Roberts, 16 and Justin McManus, 17, are members of Teen Republicans of Chester. They were interested to learn what Zais’ decisions as state superintendent, if elected, would mean for them and future generations.

“A lot of young people today don’t understand the importance of these decisions,” Roberts said. “They don’t understand the impact that voting has on their lives.”

Roberta Wood, a teacher at Great Falls Elementary School, agreed.

“It doesn’t matter about the (political) party, whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,” Wood said. “We need to be more informed voters because there’s nothing more important than education.”

Wood was particularly interested in Zais’ views about school funding and teacher furloughs.

“Educators need to know where things stand,” Wood said. “We need to know if money is going to be cut or if we’re going to be furloughed so we can plan.”

Zais stressed that his ultimate goal as state superintendent is to make public schools better with choices for parents that include public charter schools, alternative schools and additional year-round schools.

“We’ve got some of the best schools in the nation and we’ve got some of the most troubled schools,” Zais said.

Zais, who grew up in a military family, attended 10 public schools during his 12 years of school attendance, he said.

“I felt like I got a good education,” Zais said. “We had teachers who knew their material and loved their kids.”

Zais’ children also attended public schools, he said. He is assured that South Carolina public schools can be improved and assures state tax payers that they will get a positive return on their investment in  public school education.

“Every child is special and every child is different,” Zais said. “Different children have different needs.  And we need to provide multiple alternatives to education.”

Click here to read the article from the Chester News & Observer website.

School Supplies Sales Tax Holiday Weekend

The annual school supplies sales tax holiday weekend begins Friday, August 6th at 12:01 a.m. and ends on Sunday at midnight. Click here to download a list of tax exempt items to help you plan your shopping excursions.

Post & Courier: 10 Questions for State Superintendent of Education Candidates

The Post & Courier asked Mick Zais 10 questions about education policy. Answers were limited to 50 words or less.

Mick Zais

Q:. What is the top issue facing South Carolina schools?

A: Every dollar that is spent on education must be accounted for and be directly connected to the classrooms of our state. We must increase the return on investment for the taxpayers. School spending should be posted online for the public to review.

Q: Why are you more qualified than your opponent to run the state’s public schools?

A: I have a comprehensive understanding of education policy, proven leadership ability, and a record of success. I’ve been a teacher and a college president. I retired as a brigadier general after 31 years in the Army. I led the turnaround at Newberry College that made it a nationally recognized college.

Q: Do you have a better, viable way to fund public schools? Was Act 388, which limits the amount local officials can raise property taxes for schools and basic services, a bad idea?

A: Funding should be based on the students served, not the programs operated, and expenditures must be transparent to the public. I support comprehensive tax reform that will encourage job creation and investment in our state.

Q: Do vouchers and tax credits that enable students to attend private schools help or hurt public schools?

A: The more relevant question is, will vouchers or tax credits help or hurt the children of South Carolina? I believe parents should be able to choose the best educational environment that meets the needs of their child. I support a full menu of educational options.

Q: What change is most needed in the state’s charter school laws?

A: Modify the funding formula. By moving to a funding system where the money follows the child, and not to specific programs, charter schools will be on a level playing field. Charter schools are public schools, but in some communities adversarial administrators and school boards have undermined them.

Q: Should teachers get extra money based on performance?

A: Teachers should be rewarded for exceptional academic gains for students, and there are schools in South Carolina that have adopted bonus schedules. The overall effects of performance pay will be to increase teacher quality, increase the retention rate of our best teachers, and encourage highly motivated individuals to become teachers.

Q: Which one best describes the status of the state’s public school system — under-funded, adequately funded or over-funded — and why?

A: Adequately funded, but taxpayer money is not spent where it matters most, in the classroom. Only 44 cents of every dollar is spent on classroom expenditures (according to the 2008 Local Government Finance Report from the state Budget and Control Board). We can do far better. There is too much administrative overhead, too much bureaucracy, and school construction costs are ballooning out of control.

Q: Is there any ongoing state Department of Education initiative that you plan to discontinue if elected?

A: Programs should be evaluated based on their impact on student learning. Teachers are to education what doctors are to medicine, the providers of the service for which the institution exists. If a program isn’t helping the learning process between a teacher and a student, it should be eliminated.

Q: Do you support the state’s effort to secure $175 million in federal Race to the Top money? Why?

A: No. This federal program would provide one-time money but require the state to make long-term commitments without stable funding. In addition, it furthers the intrusion of the federal government into our classrooms. Washington is often the source, not the answer, to our challenges in education.

Q: What would you do as superintendent to improve South Carolina’s graduation rate?

A: I have a three-part action plan. We must focus on teaching reading in elementary school, provide multiple curricula for high school students, and provide parents a full menu of educational options so they can find the environment that best meets the needs of their student.

Mick Zais

Age: 63

Family: Wife, Susan; children, Bradley, 25, and Ashley, 23

Residence: Newberry

Occupation: President of Newberry College and retired Army brigadier general.

Education: Bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Washington

Public offices: None

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Diplomas Count 2010: Graduation by the Numbers

Every year, Diplomas Count takes a careful look at nationwide trends related to high school graduation. This year, they have titled their report Graduation by the Numbers—Putting Data to Work for Student Success.

The data for South Carolina, Class of 2007:

Overall graduation rate

54.9%, tied for 2nd worst graduation rate with New Mexico. Only Nevada (41.8%) is lower. The national average is 68.8%.

Graduation rates by gender

Male graduation rate: 48.1%; Female graduation rate: 60.8%.

Graduation rates by race

American Indian graduation rate: 26%; Hispanic graduation rate: 38.6%; Black graduation rate: 45.4%; White graduation rate: 61.6%.

Diplomas Count estimates that 30,002 South Carolina students in the Class of 2010 will not graduate. This ranks South Carolina 12th in the nation, but each of the states with more nongraduates have significantly larger populations than South Carolina.

After 12 years of Democratic rule at the South Carolina Department of Education, it’s time for change: vote Republican Mick Zais for State Superintendent.

Click here to download your free copy of this report.

Print Your Mick Zais Sample Ballot

South Carolina is the most rock-solid conservative, Republican state in the country. A consequence of the GOP’s dominance in the Palmetto State is there are many Republican candidates running for office this year. There will be 7 statewide Republican primary nominating contests held on June 8th: U.S. Senate, Governor, Lt. Governor, State Treasurer, Attorney General, Comptroller General, and State Superintendent of Education.

South Carolina uses a common direct recording electronic voting machine in every county. This means the ballot for statewide primaries will look exactly the same no matter where you live.

It’s important to help spread the word about Mick Zais and where voters can find his name on the Republican Primary ballot. Please click or download the PDF file below to print out a simple flyer to pass out to your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and Republican primary voters. Or it attach it to an email and send it to your personal email list along with a link to www.mickzais.com.

Zais Sample Ballot

By virtue of his office and alphabetical order by last name, “Mick Zais” will appear on the first screen page of every machine under the office of “State Superintendent of Education” as the final name in the right hand column. To make sure you cast your vote for Mick Zais, you may want to cast your vote for Mick FIRST before voting for the other offices.

Finally, as many of you know, Mick’s last name may only have 4 letters, but its pronunciation has stumped even the best English teacher. Here are a few rhymes to help you remember how to pronounce the “Zais” in “Mick Zais”:

Rally the Republican BASE…vote for Mick ZAIS!

Make the conservative CASE…vote for Mick ZAIS!

Make SPACE for the conservative in the Superintendent’s RACE…vote for Mick ZAIS!

However you remember to say Mick’s last name, be sure to tell all your family and friends to vote in the Republican Primary on June 8th or cast an absentee ballot.

Charleston Fundraiser – Friday, May 21, 2010

Hosts
Wayland and Marion Cato
Bob Royall
James Livingston
Arthur Ravenel
Billy Swails
Gordon Darby
Shay and Bonnie Gregoire
Tommy Hartnett
Anthony McAlister
Bill Scarborough

Please attend a reception at the home of Wayland and Marion Cato

In honor of Mick Zais
President, Newberry College
Brigadier General (Retired), United States Army
Republican Candidate for State Superintendent of Education

Click here to RSVP online.

Friday, May 21, 2010
5:00-7:00pm
51 East Bay Street, Charleston

Suggested contribution: $250/couple or $150/single
Please RSVP by Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Contact: Jay W. Ragley, 803-351-7422 or jwr@mickzais.com

Click here to RSVP online.

Columbia Fundraiser – Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Hosts
Bill Dukes
Gayle Averyt
Mike and Julie Brenan
Brian Boyer
W. Tobin Cassells, III
Katon Dawson
Joe Edens, Jr.
Michael Edens
John Hudgens
Tom and Claire Fincher
Charles P. Murray
John Rainey
John and Linda Van Duys

Please attend a reception at the
Historic Seaboard Station in The Vista
A Taste of Blue Marlin

In honor of Mick Zais
President, Newberry College
Brigadier General (Retired), United States Army
Republican Candidate for State Superintendent of Education

Click here to RSVP online.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
5:00-7:00pm

Under The Canopy at Blue Marlin
1200 Lincoln Street, Columbia

Suggested contribution: $150/couple or $100/single

Please RSVP by Monday, May 17, 2010
Contact: Jay W. Ragley, 803-351-7422 or jwr@mickzais.com

Click here to RSVP online.

Final Newberry College Graduation Address

Below is the text of my final graduation address as President of Newberry College. My apologies for any grammar errors as was a rough outline of my address. Congratulations again to the Class of 2010!

Sincerely,

Mick

2010 Graduation Address – May 8, 2010, President Mick Zais

Thank you Chairman Walker for those most kind words.  I’m sorry my parents are no longer alive to have heard them.  My father would have been proud.  And my mother would have believed it.

I’m going to address my remarks today to our graduating seniors.

As brand new college graduates, you are about to embark on a new road, to travel to a new destination, to arrive in an unknown land.

As you embark on this odyssey, I’d like to offer three principles that I believe will make the journey less difficult.   These principles, if lived out in your daily lives, will provide greater happiness and a more fulfilling life.

The first principle is this:  “For you to be successful in your work, you must love what you do.”

This means following your heart as you choose your careers.  You will spend 40 to 60 hours a week working.  If you’re not enjoying it, at some level, there is no way that you can be successful.  I’m not saying that every minute of work should be a party and that you’ll skip around your worksite humming a cheerful tune.  But, at the end of the day you should experience a feeling of satisfaction and have a sense of accomplishment from what you have done and what you are doing.

The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle, expressed it this way:  “Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”

Before Leno, for 30 years the host of the Tonight Show was Johnny Carson.  Carson  wrote, “Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy.  If you’re happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace.  And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined.”

Colleen Barrett is one of our country’s most successful corporate women.  She’s president emeritus and former chief operating officer of Southwest Airlines.  Barrett observed that, “Work is either fun or drudgery.  It depends on your attitude.  I like fun.”

Or, as the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius said, “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”

Now, well-meaning friends and family will offer advice about where, or how, your life should unfold.  They will recommend what professions you should go into and what careers you should pursue.  They mean well.  They truly do.  But they cannot see into your heart.  They cannot understand what stokes the flames of your passion, what excites and energizes you.  If you can find that activity, that job, that profession, that you love doing, you are almost guaranteed success.

The second principle I would leave with you is this: “There are no great achievements without great effort.”

Mediocrity is easy.  That’s why it’s so common.  Success is hard-won.  Even the brightest students must study long hours to rise to the top of their class.  Even the most gifted musicians, practice day after day after day to become masters of their craft.  Even the most talented athletes work incredibly hard to be the best.  Even the most creative writers work unceasingly to improve their craft.  And even the most able businesspersons are successful because they outwork their competition.  In every field, talent is commonplace.  However, the willingness to do the work, to log the hours, to expend the time and energy to be exceptional, is truly rare.

If you want to be successful in your career, if you want to win that job that others are competing for, if you want to be one of the best at what you do, you must be prepared to do more than others.  And this means long hours.  This is true whether your next stop along your journey is graduate school, teaching or coaching, the military, working in the business world, or any other endeavor.

This principle has been expressed many ways:

According to the great American inventor, Thomas Edison, “Genius is one percent inspiration, and 99% perspiration.”  He added, “I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident.  They came by work.”

Well, “What about luck?” you might ask.  “Aren’t some people successful simply because they’re lucky?”  My father was a great believer in luck.  In Vietnam, as commanding general of the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne Division, his call-sign was Lucky Eagle.  He used to tell me frequently, “I believe in luck.  And I’ve found that the harder I work the luckier I get.”

Writing before the birth of Christ, another ancient Greek, Horace, noted, “Life grants nothing to us mortals without hard work.”

You see, some things about the human condition do not change, even over thousands of years.   If you hope to be successful in your profession, not only must you love your job, but you’re going to have to work at it very, very hard.

Finally, a fact of life which forms the basis for the third principle. This fact of life is the opening paragraph of Scott Peck’s inspirational book, The Road Less Traveled.  Peck writes, “Life is difficult.  This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.  It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth we transcend it.  Once we truly know that life is difficult – once we truly understand and accept it – then life is no longer difficult.  Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.”

You will encounter many setbacks throughout your life.  You won’t be accepted into the graduate program that you want.  You will not be offered the job that you hoped for.  You’ll get the job of your dreams but find your boss is impossible to work for.  Your heart will be broken by someone you love.  Some marriages will end in betrayal and divorce.  Your children will turn out not to be the perfect embodiments of yourself that you hoped you would be.  You won’t receive the promotion that you feel you deserve.  These are but some of the disappointments that you may experience.  Expect them.  It’s part of life.

But based on this fact of life, here’s the final principle: “An abiding faith in God will equip you to deal with life’s difficulties.”

Faith will give you strength in time of trouble.  It will provide support when you are stressed.  Faith will help you carry on in the face of failure.  Faith will give you confidence in your future.

Faith is not something that happens to you.  It’s a decision you make.  It’s not a feeling. It’s an act of will.  You get to choose what you believe and then you get to choose to act accordingly.

Those with a strong faith, who are active in the community of their church, who have studied and understand the theological foundations of the of their belief, will have a support system and a belief system strong enough to withstand the vagaries of chance and calamities of misfortune which life will, inexorably, deliver.

In summary, these are the three things that I suggest as you leave Newberry College and begin a new life:

First, find work that you love. This will not necessarily be easy.  Some of you will get the job of your dreams only to discover that you actually don’t enjoy it.  You’ll have to try a lot of different things.  You’ll learn by trial and error.  And error can be a good teacher.

The second suggestion.   Work hard at what you do. There’s no substitute for hard work.  The harder you work, the more you will accomplish.  The more you accomplish, the greater your self-respect.  The more you respect yourself, the happier you will be.

Finally, practice your faith actively. Don’t wait for some mystical religious experience to overcome you.  Go to church, get involved, study the Scriptures.  If you do, you’ll be much better prepared to deal with the difficulties that are an inevitably part of life.

Good luck on your new journey.  I hope these principles help you along the way.

God bless you,  God bless Newberry College,  and God bless America.

Every student, parent, teacher, principal, guidance counselor, librarian, or athletic coach has a success story to tell about their school. Mick Zais wants you to share your school success story.

Tell us yours »