Thursday, June 21st, 5:30-7:00 pm at
THE TAVERN IN ROYAL PINES
presents
ISLAND GIRLS 138 Francis Marion Circle • BEAUFORT • (843) 441-1204 Come and support women-owned small businesses! NIGHT OUT FASHIONS, HANDMADE JEWELRY, MAKEUP TIPS & TRENDS, BAGS, & MORE!
JUNE 14 - 20, 2018 WWW.YOURISLANDNEWS.COM
FREE & OPEN TO EVERYONE!
COVERING BEAUFORT COUNTY
Board selects veteran educator to serve as interim superintendent
By a unanimous vote on Thursday, June 7, the Beaufort County Board of Education selected an award-winning veteran school administrator to serve as the district’s interim superintendent. Herbert M. Berg, who has held superintendent positions at school districts in three states, was the board’s choice to guide the district during the search for a permanent superintendent. “I’m very excited to work with the board, with school faculty and administrators, with district staff and with the Beaufort County community as a whole,” Berg said. “We’ll all
work together to make sure that the district’s 22,000 students get a rigorous world-class education during the upcoming academic year.” Berg has spent a total of 46 years in education, Herbert M. including 37 years in suBerg perintendent positions at six school districts in Washington, Virginia and South Carolina. In South Carolina, Berg served as superintendent in Kershaw County and Lexington/Richland District 5.
Berg also worked for 10 years with the U.S. Department of State to improve American schools in China. His professional recognitions include being honored as National Tech-Savvy Superintendent by eSchool News and having twice been named to the “Top 100” list of American superintendents by the American Association of School Administrators. He also served as state president of the Washington Association of School Administrators. Berg has a bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific University, a master’s degree from Seattle University and a Ph.D from Washing-
ton State University. “I think we chose the best-qualified candidate and someone who is capable of moving us forward,” said Board Chair Earl Campbell. The process of selecting a permanent superintendent is expected to take from six to 12 months. Seven board members were named to a committee that will evaluate search firms with experience in conducting nationwide superintendent searches. The committee will then choose one search firm to recommend to the full board for its approval. SEE BOARD, PAGE A5
Whale Branch seniors earn two-year college degrees along with their high school diplomas Most students wait until after their high school graduation to focus on college, but 14 Whale Branch Early College High School seniors picked up their high school diplomas on Wednesday, June 6, having already earned two years of college course credits.
Graduating seniors at Whale Branch Early college High School use the top of their caps to send various messages of strength and determination. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
Whale Branch Early College High School graduated 100 seniors during its 2018 commencement exercises on Wednesday, June 6, at the school’s Earl Campbell Athletic Complex in Seabrook.
The students took advantage of a partnership with the Technical College of the Lowcountry that allows Whale Branch students to take college courses – and earn two-year associate’s degrees – while still in high school at no cost to themselves or their parents. The TCL degree represents a two-year head-start as the students work toward earning a Bachelor’s degree or entering the workforce. Eleven Whale Branch seniors actually earned double TCL associate’s degrees in both Arts and Science. They are Christiana Badger, Jasiah Ballenger, Xzavia Bryan, Adaiya Byas, Jhonatan Diaz, Charles-Michael Garner, Sydney Lucas, Kyra Owens, Nickayla Riley, Rebecca Roell, and Gabrielle White. Ballenger also won the Young Achiever Award and was selected to be the first high school student to deliver the student address at TCL’s commencement ceremonies on May 11. This year, for the first time in school history, a Whale Branch junior — Allie Rodgers — also earned double associate’s degrees. Two seniors – Joy Green and Desmonies White – earned associate’s degrees in Arts. Eight other seniors graduated from Whale Branch with college certificates for completing significant college-level coursework at TCL: Kyla Allen, Robert Alston, Elexcia Brown, Xzavier Bryan, Richard Campbell, Anthony McVay, Nya Simmons, and Taevondru White. The joint WBECHS-TCL initiative is completing its seventh year. While any district student can take college-level courses at TCL, Whale Branch’s instructional program is built around its TCL partnership. Twenty-one percent of this year’s graduates completed college classes and earned college credits. “Year in and year out, Whale Branch’s early college program is a winner for students and their parents,” said Superintendent Jeff Moss. “Earning a fouryear college degree in just two years means paying for only two years of tuition. That’s hard to beat.” College courses are offered on site at Whale Branch, and students have the option of taking additional courses at the TCL campus. Among some of the most popular college courses are Probability and Statistics, College Algebra, Western Civilization and English Composition I.
Local voters go to the polls for primary Visit www.yourislandnews.com for a complete list of results from the June 12 primary.
Despite having the wrong date on the chalk board, voter turnout was “pretty good for this time of year,” according to one poll worker on Tuesday, June 12, at the Charles “Lind” Brown Neighborhood Activity Center. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
Above from left: An unidentified woman gets some help from poll manager Amy York, right, on election day Tuesday, June 12; These campaign signs clutter the sidewalk at Greene and Baggett streets near the polling place in the Charles “Lind” Brown Neighborhood Activity Center; Poll manager Amy York, center, waits for Chris Rycroft, center, Jennifer Octten and Rich Steinbruck.
COMMUNITY ART PROJECT Beaufort artists mobilize to create a historic mural on the walls of a unique tunnel at TCL. PAGE B1
SAVE THE REDFISH New catch limit for South Carolina’s most popular saltwater gamefish. PAGE B2
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