The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education announced today the award for the establishment of a new collaborative Center of Excellence in Math Education, selecting a three-institution partnership to lead the initiative under the state’s competitive Centers of Excellence grant program.

The selected proposal, The Center of Excellence for Promoting Research, Innovation, and Mastery in Elementary Math (PRIME), was developed in partnership between Columbia College, Newberry College, and the University of South Carolina-Aiken. The grant total is $178,688, which will be allocated between Columbia College ($69,668), Newberry College ($66,563.60) and USC Aiken ($42,456.40) in the current fiscal year.

The PRIME Center is designed to equip pre-service elementary teachers with the pedagogical tools needed to integrate higher-order critical thinking and mathematical reasoning into instruction for students.

“Aligned with the South Carolina Department of Education’s math initiative, the PRIME Center equips pre-service teachers with evidence-based instructional practices and delivers targeted tutoring to support at-risk students in grades one through five,” said Dr. Lishu Yin, CHE Educator Quality, Retention, and Recruitment program manager.

The Centers of Excellence program is funded through the South Carolina Education Improvement Act of 1984, which enables institutions and groups of institutions to serve as state-of-the-art resource centers for the state in a specific area related to the improvement of teacher education. Centers also place a concentration on rural, underperforming schools and districts. 

For more information about CHE’s Centers of Excellence initiative, visit www.che.sc.gov/eiagrant/.