School boards: the front lines of education reform

Bryce Fiedler. IMAGE PROVIDED

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By Bryce Fiedler 

A collective effort is underway in South Carolina to raise the bar for public education. It spans every level of our system, from the governor’s office to the S.C. Department of Education to our local school boards, all the way to classrooms where teachers drive daily learning. 

It comes in the wake of pandemic-related setbacks, extended school closures, residual learning loss and a growing need to ensure children in South Carolina develop the skills and knowledge they need for life after graduation. Millions of families and children are counting on its success.  

Today, that effort is guided by a clear target:  ensuring that at least three out of four students are performing at or above grade level by 2030. We already see signs of progress. On last year’s state assessments in grades 3 through 8, reading and writing proficiency rose from 53.5 percent to nearly 60 percent. In math, however, progress is moving more slowly. Proficiency rates here nudged upward from 42.3 percent to only about 44 percent. 

As we consider the roles of our education leaders in this ongoing work — teachers, district staff and state legislators, among others — and the commitment students bring each day, we must recognize that school boards sit at the center of it all. 

Their authority is expansive. They hire and supervise local superintendents. They approve school district budgets, often totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, that fund school operations and determine financial priorities. They vote on the policies and curriculum that shape how students learn. And, perhaps most of all, they serve as representatives of their communities, carrying the responsibility to ensure that student outcomes continuously improve.  

In short, a local school board is the most important decision-making body in all of education. Nothing else comes close. 

A significant number of trustees today are first-time officeholders. Many are parents who looked on with frustration during and after the pandemic as schools stayed closed for long stretches, academic priorities slipped, and political distractions took center stage. Instead of accepting the status quo, they ran for office and won.  

But for as grueling as campaigns can be, the truth is that governance is often the greatest challenge. It demands patience, subject-matter knowledge, policy understanding and a willingness to make difficult decisions under public scrutiny. 

That’s why my organization, Carolinas Academic Leadership Network (CALN), exists. CALN was created to empower school board members in North and South Carolina with high-quality training, resources and professional guidance. Through this, we have proudly cultivated a broad network of reform-minded trustees who share a common vision of academic excellence. 

In 2025 alone, CALN hosted a new-member training in both states, held more than a dozen virtual briefings led by an experienced education law attorney and published a detailed study examining test scores and academic trends across the Carolinas. The report underscored the urgent need to raise student outcomes and gave board members practical tools to make data-driven decisions. 

My own background is in research and writing, having previously led the research department at South Carolina’s longest-serving free-market think tank, the S.C. Policy Council There, I learned the importance of translating complex policies into plain English:  What will this change do? Who will it affect? And why should people care?  

Those same principles fuel our mission at CALN. When our school board members understand the “why” behind an issue, they are far more equipped to lead effectively. And when they are empowered, so are the families who depend on them. 

One recent example was the statewide cellphone ban that lawmakers passed in 2024. As districts worked to implement the new rule, CALN was among the first to offer guidance and best practices for implementation. We made sure that policymakers knew the options available to them, the tradeoffs between approaches and ultimately, how to reduce classroom distractions and maximize learning time.    

We also work hands-on with school boards. In October of this year, CAN delivered on-site professional development for the Richland School District Two Board of Trustees in parliamentary procedure. These efforts further enhanced meeting procedures and decision-making for the district’s nearly 28,000 students. 

Our mission is further guided by an advisory committee of S.C. school board trustees, including Charleston County School District Board Chair Pam McKinney. Their insight helps to ensure CALN remains effective, informed, and best positioned to drive academic achievement.  

Now more than ever, parents are paying close attention to our schools and to what South Carolina does next. As school choice options continue to expand, public education must be prepared not only to compete, but to excel and deliver meaningful results for students. 

I’m confident we can meet the moment, but it won’t come easy. It will demand continuing bold leadership, a focus on academic priorities and a commitment to strong, student-centered governance. That is the work we do every day at CALN — and the work we will continue to advance across South Carolina. 

Bryce Fiedler is the director of Carolinas Academic Leadership Network (CALN). Before joining CALN, he served as the senior policy analyst for the South Carolina Policy Council.