Columbia, South Carolina (WSPA) — In November, you’ll have the chance to choose the next person to educate your child for the next four years.

This week, we spoke with the Democratic and Republican candidates for state superintendent of education.

Republican candidate Ellen Weaver said she was exactly who South Carolina needed.

“There has never been a greater opportunity to choose the direction of education in South Carolina. I’ve been bumping into it,” Weaver said.

Weaver is president and CEO of conservative think tank Palmetto Promise Institute. He also served as chairman of the South Carolina Board of Education Oversight.

She has the endorsement of at least two former state superintendents, dozens of Republicans, Senator Tim Scott, and won the Republican primary runoff.

State law requires state superintendents to have at least a master’s degree. Weaver is on pace to complete a master’s degree in educational leadership from Bob Jones University by mid-October.

“It’s been really formative in my experience with this campaign. It feels like a bootcamp for the job I’m preparing for,” she said.

When we sat down with Weaver, she had just announced her “Student, Teacher, Parent” plan. Her campaign calls it the “STP” plan.

“Good policy is the motor oil that keeps the engine of our education system running,” she said.

As state superintendent, Weaver said, she focused on what she called basic skills, such as reading and math skills. She invested in mental health resources and school resource officers. He said he would work to make schools safer by doing so.

“We know many students are suffering after the isolation they experienced during COVID,” Weaver said.

Under her “STP” plan, Weaver explored ways to raise teacher salaries to the national average within five years, improve teacher preparation, and make educator jobs easier in South Carolina. .

Weaver said he wanted to cut down on “bureaucracy.”

“What we have to do after COVID is restore trust through full transparency from top to bottom in the education system,” Weaver explained. “We need to make sure teachers and parents are on the same side of the page because this is how we ultimately work together to do something important: support students and their learning.”

Weaver said the best way to empower parents in South Carolina is to allow true school choice. Weaver is an advocate of education savings accounts.

Through this program, the state uses public funds to help families pay for private school tuition, school supplies, textbooks, and more. She said she was unrelentingly supportive of her school choice, saying, “I believe money should follow a child.”

Weaver says he wants parents to have easy access to their child’s curriculum. She said this would help address concerns parents might have. rice field.

Weaver said her time working on education policy and on the Board of Education Oversight helped her understand the problems facing South Carolina. We believe that we can build

Click or tap here for more information about Weaver and her campaign.

You can read the full conversation with Ellen Weaver below.

Note: An interview with Democratic candidate Lisa Ellis aired Sept. 14.