NIET, South Carolina Public Charter School District Partner on $16M Federal Grant Focused on Strengthening Teacher Effectiveness

Phoenix, Ariz. (October 8, 2026) - The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET) announced today that it will partner with the South Carolina Public Charter School District on a three-year, $16 million competitive grant from the federal Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program. The grant project, known as South Carolina Raising Instructional Standards for Excellence (SC RISE), will strengthen teacher effectiveness through evidence-based professional development that addresses literacy, numeracy, remedial, and other district and student needs.

"Great​ ​teachers​ ​change​ ​lives,​ ​and​ ​strong​ ​instructional​ ​leaders​ ​help​ ​great​ ​teachers​ ​thrive,” said South Carolina State Superintendent Ellen Weaver.​ “​This​ ​partnership​ ​reflects​ ​a​ ​shared​ ​commitment​ ​to​ ​investing​ ​in​ ​the​ ​people​ ​who​ ​make​ ​student​ ​success​ ​possible.​ ​When​ ​we​ ​invest​ ​in​ ​educators,​ ​we​ ​invest​ ​directly​ ​in​ ​student​ ​success.​ ​By​ ​strengthening​ ​school​ ​leadership,​ ​supporting​ ​educators,​ ​and​ ​growing​ ​a​ ​more​ ​stable​ ​teacher​ ​pipeline,​ ​we​ ​are​ ​creating​ ​greater​ ​opportunities​ ​for​ ​South​ ​Carolina​ ​students​ ​while​ ​laying​ ​the​ ​foundation​ ​for​ ​generational​ ​transformation​ ​in​ ​our​ ​schools,​ ​communities,​ ​and​ ​state."​

SC RISE will impact 327 teachers and 5,135 students across six charter schools, approximately 50% of whom meet the state’s poverty criteria. Traditionally, these high-need charter schools have faced significant challenges in recruiting, developing, and retaining effective teachers and instructional leaders to provide ongoing, evidence-based professional development. Through the SC RISE partnership, participating schools will implement The TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement, a research-based school improvement model with demonstrated student academic achievement results in schools across South Carolina and the nation.

“Teacher quality is the single most powerful school-based lever for improving student outcomes, and SC RISE is specifically designed to expand our proven initiative – the TAP System for Teacher and Student Advancement – to increase teacher effectiveness,” said NIET Chief Executive Officer Dr. Joshua Barnett. “We are excited to partner with the South Carolina Public Charter School District on this project, and we look forward to the improvements in teacher quality and student achievement to come.”

A key SC RISE strategy will be establishing and expanding formal teacher leadership roles that provide differentiated, job-embedded professional development for teachers. These instructionally focused teacher leadership roles are designed to build schoolwide instructional capacity, strengthen mathematics instruction, and ensure that both novice and veteran teachers receive meaningful, ongoing support aligned to effective instruction. Additionally, these teacher leader roles will help the South Carolina Public Charter School District attract and retain highly effective teachers and create a sustainable pipeline of instructionally-focused leaders.

“Our partnership with NIET will enable us to strengthen school-level processes and structures that foster professional learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement,” said South Carolina Public Charter School District Superintendent Chris Neeley. “This work builds on what we have accomplished over the last several years to strengthen our school leaders and classroom teachers. Ultimately, though, this work is about our students. Kids First is our promise, and everything we do to strengthen educators should help us better see each child, recognize their spark, and help that spark grow.”

This innovative project is designed to produce meaningful and sustained improvements in instructional practice and student outcomes. Rather than relying on short-term workshops, SC RISE will establish ongoing systems and routines for professional learning, instructional support, and continuous improvement within participating schools. SC RISE will build sustainable systems that support effective teachers and increase student achievement, providing an example for other districts and states looking to move the needle on student outcomes.

About NIET

For more than 25 years, NIET has worked in developing teacher leaders, supporting successful instructional strategies, and building educator capacity to address student needs. NIET partners with schools, districts, states, and universities to ensure all students have effective educators. Through these partnerships, NIET has served more than 11,000 schools and has impacted more than 350,000 educators and 3.5 million students.