Education

   • Education and Economic Development Act creating      a new vision for education based on the idea of      "Personal Pathways to Success" to offer more and      better ways for all students to succeed in the      working world
   • Established a full day pilot program for four-year-      old kindergarteners for 4,000 at-risk children in the      poorer districts of South Carolina
   • Enacted the first significant change to the      Education Accountability Act in 10 years by      replacing the out-dated PACT with a diagnostic test     that can be used by educators to improve student      performance
   • Consistently funded teacher salaries above the      southeastern average
   • Increased reimbursements for teacher supplies to      $275
   • Consistently funded National Board Certification      Incentive
   • Broadened districts' abilities to hire teachers      through the Teacher Recruitment & Retention Act
   • Initiated 250,000 mile replacement cycle for school      buses
   • Nurse in every elementary school
   • Students' Health & Fitness Act
   • Statewide Charter School District
   • Uniform School start date
   • Virtual Schools Act
   • SC LightRail Consortium, a highspeed optical      research network linking research universities with      their hospital partners
   • Initiatives to increase the number of nursing      students, including increasing scholarships, loans &      grants
   • Research Centers for Economic Excellence
   • Increased Life & Palmetto Fellows Scholarships for      students majoring in critical areas of learning