Blue Ridge High SIC
Edith L. Frierson Montessori SIC
Lemira Elementary SIC
Sumter High SIC
(schools listed alphabetically)
Winner of the 2025 Riley Award will be announced at the SC-SIC Annual Conference, on Saturday, April 5
Congratulations
2025 Riley Award Finalists
Join the Honor Roll and apply for the Dick and Tunky Riley Award for School Improvement Council Excellence.
Do you feel as though your SIC has excelled in achievement and civic engagement on behalf of your school? If so, you’re in the right place.
The Dick and Tunky Riley Award for SIC Excellence was created by the Board of Trustees in honor of former SC Governor and US Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, and his wife, Tunky in 2002. The annual award recognizes School Improvement Councils for excellence in their commitment to school improvement efforts.
The awards process has three levels-
Level One: SICs tell the story of their accomplishments in the previous school year through a case statement. Level one applications count for a maximum of 100 points. SICs scoring at least 85 points at this level will be entered on the SIC Honor Roll and receive a certificate of achievement. Up to 20 of the Honor Roll SICs will be chosen as semi-finalists to compete in Level Two.
Level Two: SICs are asked to submit additional documentation showing that their council is in compliance with state law and SC-SIC guidelines. These submissions are worth a maximum of 50 points. Up to five SICs with the highest combined point totals from Levels One and Two will move into the Winners Level.
Winners Level: An independent panel of judges reviews applications and submission materials from each of the finalists and chooses the Riley Award winning SIC. The remaining finalists will receive Honorable Mention awards.
Former SC Governor and US Secretary of Education Dick Riley (center) pictured with former SC-SIC Executive Director Tom F. Hudson (left) and SC-SIC Board of Trustee's Chair member Clara Heinsohn (right).
2024 Riley Award Winner - Harold C. Johnson Elementary SIC
Among the Harold C. Johnson Elementary SIC’s efforts for 2022-23 was its work to increase parent involvement; responding to parent input to strengthen communication with families, to include sharing school news with them over multiple formats; serving as a parent advisory group during the district’s calendar creation process, including successfully advocating for a half-day dismissal for teachers to conduct parent conferences; and having SIC members participate in strategic change training to help focus future efforts. To learn more about their hard work, read the case statement below.
Read their case statement here.
2024 Honorable Mentions
Lake Forest Elementary SIC- Read their case statement here.
Lemira Elementary SIC- Read their case statement here.
Sterling School SIC- Read their case statement here.
Stratford High SIC- Read their case statement here.