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AFL aids Greenville County Schools workforce with grant

Molly Hulsey //April 18, 2022//

AFL aids Greenville County Schools workforce with grant

Molly Hulsey //April 18, 2022//

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The $7,500 grant will go toward PEP support for programs targeting early career teachers or teachers in schools with high levels of poverty. (Photo/Provided) AFL, a Spartanburg-based manufacturer of fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories, provided a $7,500 grant to Public Education Partners for its Elevate Teachers programming. 

The funding will support the advocacy group’s multiple initiatives including the Greenville Alternative Teacher Education, or GATE, program; professional development workshops; Elevate Teachers and #TeachGCS Campaigns; as well as teacher grants. 

Launched in 2016 as a partnership with Greenville County Schools, the GATE program helps recruit candidates with specific subject matter expertise to teach in hard-to-fill middle and secondary positions throughout the district, according to a news release. With this program embedded in Greenville County Schools, PEP’s support includes thought partnership, professional development, classroom start-up grants and celebrations of program milestones. 

PEP will expand its commitment to complimentary professional development workshop opportunities for educators, especially among early career teachers and in schools with high levels of poverty or Title 1 schools. 

The advocacy group uses #TeachGCS and Elevate Teachers! campaigns to celebrate and support teachers and the teaching profession with awareness-building campaigns and school-based celebrations that focus on schools serving low-income communities, schools with high teacher turnover, OnTrack Greenville schools, and elementary schools that are the “feeders” to OnTrack, a school-community partnership program geared to help prepare students for high school graduation and success after graduation. 

“We are so grateful for our continued partnership with AFL,” Catherine Schumacher, president and CEO of Public Education Partners, said in the release. “Its generosity allows us to sustain and expand critical work around our three strategic intentions … all for the purpose of advancing public education in Greenville County. AFL's support is focused on our investment in teachers and teaching, helping us in our work to recruit and retain great educators and lift up the profession at such an important time for our schools.” 

Since its founding, PEP has provided direct support to teachers for professional development, classroom projects and other needs. Grants are open to educators in elementary, middle and high school, and prioritize projects that impact students from schools with high populations of marginalized students and teacher turnover rates.

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