Medal of Honor Recipient Gen. James Livingston endorses Kelly Payne

Gen. James Livingston, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient for his service in Vietnam, on why he supports Kelly Payne for Superintendent of Education:

“I’m highly impressed with Kelly Payne for a number of reasons. She’s a successful, energetic teacher who’s willing to step forward in these challenging times to serve as South Carolina’s next Superintendent of Education. Kelly will do more than apply education theory in this leadership role; she’ll extend her own proven teaching techniques and ideas to classrooms throughout the state.

Her no-nonsense plans for strengthening South Carolina’s public education system are impressive. She advocates a back-to-basics teaching approach, knowing that if a student is poorly equipped to succeed in life without learning to properly read, write, speak and do basic math, he will not be prepared to be successful at the next level. She understands that teaching all students these skills to create a solid foundation for them is good, plain common sense. As a parent and educator, Kelly Payne, sees first hand how parental and community involvement is a critical factor in ensuring successful learning communities. I like that.

But I also admire Kelly’s understanding that our schools need to teach kids about basic civic virtues, about pride in their country, and about being willing to serve their country. She realizes that society has changed a great deal in the past few decades. If children haven’t been taught by their parents what it means to be an American, she believes that those children then ought to teach their parents what it means. To better prepare children for that teaching assignment, she’ll require that our schools teach about America’s rich heritage and about the blessings available to all of us because of that rich heritage. I like that.

Without a properly educated work force, the country and state will continue to slide down the economic chain with job losses. We are losing out on the world stage due to our public education system,and SC is not in the top of the line-up. Kelly will work with the Department of Commerce to identify skills that are needed to prepare our students for entry into the workforce. Kelly already works in a district that uses Personal Pathways to Success. It is a system that combines high academic standards with career exploration while giving students the guidance and experience they need to take full advantage of real opportunities in the South Carolina economy. I like that.

Kelly understands how very important it is for parents and teachers to work together to accomplish the tough task of teaching kids, and that administrators do all they can to free teachers to teach and to relieve teachers of any nonessential administrative burden. I’m impressed by Kelly’s broad vision that she’s developed in the trenches.

I devoted my career to public service in the military. Kelly has devoted her career to public service through public education. I heartily endorse her in this pursuit.”

James E. Livingston
Major General, US Marine Corps, Retired

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