Three educators and a South Carolina high school were honored this week with Southern Regional Education Board awards. These recognize outstanding teaching and leadership with SREB Readiness Courses, which help underprepared students succeed in high school and postsecondary studies. The winners were honored at SREB’s Readiness Courses Institute in Orlando, Florida.

Stacy Smith
Arkansas Department of Education
President’s Trailblazer Award

Stacy Smith’s leadership as Assistant Commissioner of Learning Services made it possible to implement SREB Ready for College Courses in literacy and math in public schools statewide. With Smith’s support the department partnered with SREB to train over 400 teachers in Literacy Ready and Math Ready, and students have since demonstrated significant gains on the ACT. Selected Arkansas schools are participating in a follow-up study to further provide evidence of course effectiveness.

Whale Branch Early College High School
Seabrook, South Carolina
Platinum-Level Certification
SREB Ready Certified School

Whale Branch Early College High School is recognized as the first SREB Ready Certified School after implementing both math and literacy ready courses and documenting successful student outcomes. Whale Branch has seen a more than 30 percent increase in underprepared students meeting the college-readiness English benchmark, and success in Algebra I has reached an all-time high of 78 percent among students who took Ready for High School Math.

Sandra Dorning​
West Limestone High School
Lester, Alabama
Outstanding Literacy Ready Teacher

Sandra Dorning of West Limestone High School taught the SREB Literacy Ready course for high school seniors in the 2017-18 school year. One hundred percent of her Literacy Ready students graduated, and every student who retook the ACT after taking the course made significant gains on one or both assessments in ACT English or reading. Students’ English scores increased from an average of 15.7 to 18.0, their reading scores from an average of 16.8 to 19.6.

Sharon Moehle​
Lake Career and Technical Center
Camdenton, Missouri
Outstanding Math Ready Teacher

Sharon Moehle, a math teacher at Lake Career and Technical Center, implemented the SREB Math Ready course for high school seniors in the 2017-18 school year. The school administered the Accuplacer exam to students after they took the course, and 88 percent scored at the college level for mathematics. These students will not be required to enroll in developmental math courses in Missouri colleges, saving time and money when they graduate from high school and enter a postsecondary institution.

About SREB Readiness Courses

Far too many students need developmental (remedial) education when they get to college. SREB’s Literacy Ready and Math Ready help address the readiness gap by improving specific skills and understanding for high school students. SREB is now piloting two courses to prepare middle grades students for success in high school: Ready for High School Literacy and Ready for High School Math.

SREB’s Readiness Courses Institute brings together teachers to learn to implement the courses. The 2018 conference was July 9 to 12 in Orlando.

The Southern Regional Education Board works with states and educators to improve public education at every level, from early childhood through postsecondary education. 

SREB media contact: Beth.Day@SREB.org, (404) 879-5544