The Francis Marion University Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty works to solve the problems inherent in educating children of poverty by developing expertise in those that work with these children on a daily basis. Only through developing local capacity to solve problems will true progress be made in the struggle to help those in greatest need -- children of poverty. 

More specifically, the purpose of the Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty is to increase the achievement of children of poverty by improving the quality of undergraduate teacher preparation, graduate teacher preparation, and the professional development of in-service teachers.

The Center has established five goals to accomplish the purpose of increasing the achievement of children of poverty by improving the quality of undergraduate teacher-candidate preparation, post-baccalaureate teacher preparation, and the professional development of in-service teachers, including

Goal 1. Design and implement pre-service teacher education programs that attract qualified applicants and enable graduates to effectively teach children of poverty.

Goal 2. Provide high quality professional development programs that include collaborative research activities and the use of existing research evidence to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment in schools serving large numbers of children of poverty.

Goal 3. Equip teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to work effectively with parents, health and human service providers, and other community resources to meet the social, emotional, and physical needs of children of poverty and to serve as advocates for them in the school, community, and state.

Goal 4. Develop a program that recognizes extensive study by teacher candidates and in-service teachers, and that leads to their formal designation as a “Teacher of Children of Poverty” by Francis Marion University School of Education and by the State Board of Education (and perhaps the National Board).

Goal 5. Become the premier resource in South Carolina for helping teachers learn how to provide a high quality education to all children of poverty.