Limestone To Host Diversity In Teaching Panel Discussion On April 9

Limestone College will host a panel discussion on Diversity in Teaching on Monday, April 9, at 4 p.m. inside the Stephenson Dining Hall Banquet Room.

“The Diversity Discussion Panel is one of the culminating professional development opportunities we provide for our student teachers,” said Dr. Shelly Meyers, Limestone’s Director of Teacher Education and Chair of the Division of Education and Physical Education. “The speakers are selected each year for their professional or personal experiences dealing with students in the public schools. The panelists give our student teachers sources and perspectives beyond the college classroom and field experiences they have already had.

“Every semester the speakers and conversations change based on the needs of the student teachers and the current climate in our schools,” she added. “This panel discussion allows our student teachers to ask questions and reflect on their own practice as educators.”

This year’s panel will include Erin Fox, 2018 South Carolina Teacher of the Year; Marc Camp, former Cherokee County Teacher of the Year; and Lyman Dawkins, III, Cherokee County’s First-Year Teacher of the Year.

Limestone College’s Teacher Education Program is sponsoring the event.

Fox, an English teacher from Gaffney High School, was named the 2018 South Carolina Teacher of the Year in May of last year. She is currently on a one-year residency with the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement (CERRA) where she is serving as an ambassador for the teaching profession.

Camp, a Physical Education teacher at Limestone/Central Elementary, was a recent semi-finalist of the Jessie Williams Little “Leading the Way” award for Outstanding Mentorship sponsored by Winthrop University.

Dawkins, a sixth grade Science teacher at Granard Middle School, is a graduate of Limestone. He is currently serving as co-advisor for the Call Me MiSTER program at the College.

The panelists will discuss current issues around diversity in schools, specifically in the Upstate of South Carolina. Although the discussion will be specific to school contexts, Meyers said that she would like to invite the Limestone College and Cherokee County communities to attend.