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Education
Top StorySpotlight
Summer Busher appointed director of advising at Florence-Darlington Technical College
Special to The Morning News
Florence-Darlington Technical College has named Summer Busher as its director of advising, a newly established leadership position created to strengthen the college's commitment to student success.
Busher
Gene Crider / FDTC
“I am excited to join Florence-Darlington Technical College and support students as they pursue their educational goals,” Busher said. “I look forward to building meaningful relationships and helping students navigate their academic journey with confidence.”
As director of advising, Busher will provide strategic leadership for FDTC's Academic Advising Center by developing a comprehensive advising model that ensures every student receives personalized guidance aligned with their academic, career and personal goals.
Florence-Darlington Technical College has received grant funding through the SC NEXUS Resilient Careers Grant to support linemen in the electr…
She will work closely with faculty, enrollment services, student support programs, and academic divisions to create a seamless advising experience that empowers students to overcome challenges, stay on track, and achieve their educational aspirations.
“Advising is the heart of student success,” Vice President of Student Services Dr. Travis P. Gleaton said. “Every interaction is an opportunity to inspire confidence, remove barriers, and empower students to reach their fullest potential.”
In a unanimous decision on July 14, the Florence-Darlington Technical College Area Commission appointed Dr. Marilyn “Murph” Fore as acting pre…
Busher’s experience includes advising healthcare students at Tyler Junior College, serving as a remote graduate advisor for the Master of Geosciences program at Texas A&M University, and providing undergraduate advising for Environmental Programs at Texas A&M University.
In addition to her advising experience, she has served in leadership roles with the Texas A&M University Advising Council and the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Region 7.
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Workforce housing project in the works on Lincoln Ave in Hartsville
Emmy Ribero
HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Sixty townhome units are being developed on the corner of Eighth Street and Lincoln Avenue for workforce housing in South Hartsville.
Orchard Commons Townhomes are being developed in South
Hartsville. In fall 2027, this will be home to 60 units of
workforce housing.
emmy.ribero / EMMY RIBERO/STAFF
The project, known as Orchard Commons Townhomes, is already leasing and is set to open in fall 2027, Mayor of Hartsville Dan Askins said.
"Everybody needs a place to stay in Hartsville," Askins said. "That's part of our big mission from the 2025 master plan. We identified housing as the number one need in Hartsville."
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The development is known as workforce housing, which means it will be marketed for the average working resident, such as teachers, law enforcement and more. The rate will be set by the developer, but it will be below market rate, Askins said.
The developer is Connelly Developments LLC, based in Lexington. Requests for comment were not returned by the time of publication.
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The city has recently completed a unified development ordinance to, “guide development in accordance with existing and future needs and promoting the public health, safety, morals, convenience, order, appearance, prosperity, and general welfare," according to the ordinance documentation.
Askins said this ordinance has "opened the door for development."
Orchard Commons Townhomes is part of an overall plan for growth in Hartsville, Askins said.
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The development is also part of an overall plan for growth specifically in South Hartsville, according to Teresa Mack, Hartsville City Council member for District 5.
Mack has been on council for 13 years and has been working toward improving South Hartsville through what she called "Operation Clean." She said developments like Orchard Commons are the second phase of that.
Operation Clean was an effort to demolish abandoned houses and keep properties clean. The next phase for South Hartsville is infill development where properties were demolished and helping residents become homeowners.
"It's like a new lease on life for South Hartsville residents," Mack said. "...Now we have the ability to stay afloat. When we get our community to look better, then that helps other developers see what this community is and see how they can make the difference."
Around Hartsville, there are other developments in the works.
There will also be apartments and homes coming to the former Thornwell Elementary School, Askins said.
The facility will soon be home to 50 apartments and 20 homes in what was the playground area, he said.
Additionally, the city has a request for proposal for 10 acres in downtown on the corner of Fourth Street and Railroad Avenue, by Wild Heart Brewing Company, for apartments.
"We want it to look like an extension of downtown, not like something new and different," Askins said. "We want it to look like it's always been there."
Editor's Note: Previous version of this story indicated the project for apartments and homes coming to the former Thornwell Elementary School were a private-public partnership. The city, through the Unified Development Ordinance, encouraged private enterprise development but is not in a partnership.
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Education
Top StorySpotlight
Power:Ed provides funds for FMU, Hartsville nonprofit
Gene Crider
Power:Ed, the philanthropy arm of the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, announced it has awarded more than $1.3 million in grant funding to 26 nonprofit organizations across South Carolina.
Among the grants Power:Ed provided this year was $32,500 to the
Francis Marion University Education Foundation. Pictured, from
left, are Dr. Jennifer Kunka, FMU President Dr. Fred Carter, Lauren
Stanton, Jennifer Taylor, and Power:Ed Executive Director Claire
Gibbons.
Gene Crider / SPECIAL TO THE MORNING NEWS
The FY2025-26 grant funding provided:
• $97,000 to national non-profit Impact Justice to support the first-of-its-kind vertical farm job training program in a South Carolina prison, providing job training, job placement, stipends, and fresh produce to the incarcerated women at Camille Graham Correctional Center in Columbia.
Tracy George, DNP, PMHNP, FNP, a provider at CareSouth Carolina's Dillon location and an associate professor at Francis Marion University, was…
• $79,000 to Trent Hill Center for Children & Families, a rural non-profit in Hartsville, to support its Independent Living Skills Program, which assists youth and young adults as they age out of the foster care system.
• $32,500 to Francis Marion University Education Foundation and $50,000 to South Carolina State University Foundation to help retain or award scholarship opportunities to students.
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• $80,000 to Sight Savers America to provide high-tech vision aids to students with severe visual impairment and blindness. These funds assisted 30 middle and high-school-age children with devices that can range from $900 to $4,500, making them cost prohibitive for many families. The devices enable them to complete homework, study, and become career ready.
“Investing in these programs extends our mission to help students pursue their educational goals and become workforce ready,” said Trey Simon, President & CEO of South Carolina Student Loan Corporation. “Through Power:Ed, we’re honored to help these organizations amplify their impact and drive meaningful change across South Carolina.”
Power:Ed invests in a broad range of educational efforts led by South Carolina organizations and academic institutions with a focus on supporting low-income, underserved, and first-generation students.
As a philanthropic program, it is funded by South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, a nonprofit making education more accessible through low-interest loans. SC Student Loan reinvests the proceeds it receives from student loans back into educational programs that support access to education attainment, strengthen financial literacy, and boost career readiness across the state.
“These programs provide invaluable resources and opportunities, opening the door to a college education or a thriving career for many students and families across South Carolina,” said Claire Gibbons, Executive Director of Power:Ed. “Power:Ed is proud to support these nonprofits, and the work they do.”
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Education
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Darlington schools adopt new strategies
Emmy Ribero
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Darlington County School District has completed routine maintenance, hired new administrators and launched two districtwide initiatives to enhance learning.
The district freshened up every school before the students walked through the doors last week, according to Superintendent Matthew Ferguson.
Power:Ed, the philanthropy arm of the South Carolina Student Loan Corporation, has awarded over $1.3 million in grant funding to 26 nonprofit …
Darlington High School, Darlington Middle School and Hartsville Middle School have remodeled cafeteria spaces as well.
“It's a busy time during the year where we try to pack in a lot of work that cannot happen when students are present,” Ferguson said. “And so every one of our buildings has been touched over this summer in some way to freshen up and prepare for students to start back this year.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Pee Dee Area is reopening its afterschool programs for the 2026-27 school year, with staggered club openings.
Construction is underway for a new kindergarten wing at Bay Road Elementary that is set to open in January 2027, after winter break.
“Bay Road Elementary is one of our newer schools, has a Montessori program and increased enrollment and so we had to add eight additional classrooms to complete that move," Ferguson said.
The students who will use the new space currently attend other schools in the district.
60 units of townhomes are coming to the corner of Eighth street and Lincoln Ave. in South Hartsville as a 'workforce housing' development, set…
There are also new principals this year. Three are new to the district, and two are taking on new roles after serving elsewhere in the district.
Brandan Craig is the new principal of J.L. Cain Elementary School.
Patricia "Beth" Hall-Caulder is the new principal of Southside Early Childhood Center. She previously served as the assistant principal at Southside.
Jason English is the new principal of Darlington Middle School. He formerly served as the assistant principal at Darlington Middle.
Victoria Williams-Cooper is the new principal of Darlington High School, coming from Darlington Middle.
Cortney Gehrke is the director of the Darlington County Institute of Technology. She previously served as principal of Darlington High School.
Districtwide enrollment is expected to remain about the same at around 9,000 students.
New initiatives are also being taken this year regarding attendance and technology.
"Attendance matters, and so we want to make sure that we are making each one of those 180 school days count," Ferguson said. "And so that starts with making sure we're showing up every day for instruction, and that the schools are providing high-quality instruction when students are there."
The initiative includes spending more time communicating the importance of attendance and providing incentives for students with good attendance.
Teachers will also be given incentives for perfect attendance.
Another initiative being taken districtwide is finding balance in the use of technology.
"We certainly do not want to not expose children to technology, but we also want to make sure that we are not using technology in inappropriate ways or for the majority of the day, and so it's about finding that balance," Ferguson said.
The district is communicating to parents and teachers that sometimes using pen and paper is the best approach, or reading a physical book. Handwriting and cursive writing are also skills that the district still wants to develop in its students.
“There's a lot of research around how, in many cases, those are the best instructional strategies, and we lose something when we are exclusively online or on a device,” Ferguson said.
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