Star Profile
Jim Rex, candidate for State Superintendent of Education
By John Temple Ligon
Temple@TheColumbiaStar.com

Jim Rex grew up in Ohio, where he finished high school. Immediately out of college, Rex taught high school English and coached football. Fast forward through graduate education and a PhD, Rex served as dean of education at Winthrop University and also at Coastal Carolina University.

At USC, he was vice president for development and alumni relations, and he retired as the university's vice president of university advancement.

Rex was an interim president at Columbia College while he led the search committee that found Dr. Whitson to serve as president.

His wife, Sue Rex, is a former classroom teacher and college professor. She sits on the board of trustees at Winthrop University.

They and their four children live on Lake Wateree in Fairfield County.

Rex has been watching South Carolina's progress in education for more than 30 years, but progress has been incremental on something of a national pace. In other words, South Carolina's education position relative to the rest of the country hasn't progressed a whole lot.

Instead of the incremental progress, albeit commendable, South Carolina needs a comprehensive plan, a referendum for reform, says Rex. The approach Rex espouses encompasses five major components: (1) encourage greater innovation, (2) allow for choice of schools, (3) rebalance accountability and put tests in a proper perspective, (4) rejuvenate the teaching profession and heighten standards, (5) level the school funding field and push for open access to quality across the state.

Rex likes smaller schools where higher attention can be paid to individual students. Rex cited Time magazine's recently published statistic on American high school dropouts: 88% drop out due to boredom.

Having worked as both a teacher and a coach, Rex endorses the team approach to teaching. The coach tends to stay with a student for three or four years of high school, while a teacher might work with a student for one year at most.

With a multi-year attachment, a teacher can get credit for a student's improvement and success, to include test scores. Rex sees no reason why a teacher can't be fairly compensated with pay bonuses for test score improvements.

Beyond academic standards, according to Rex, an overall approach to public education can include single-sex schools - particularly middle schools - dress codes, tighter discipline, and even spirituality within constitutional bounds.

Besides Rex's own experience and what his wife shares from her education background, he gets field reports from his brother, an elementary school principal in Horry County. His brother's currency in the classroom affords constant communication on what is working and what is not.

Many states do not elect their education superintendents. They're appointed by the governors and approved by the legislatures. Rex, however, suggests the elected superintendent can be less political than the appointed, but he also advocates a non-partisan political race. Nominated by the Democrats, Rex says parties have little place in public education.

What South Carolina needs is an independent advocate for improved public education, Rex implores. The state's superintendent has about the toughest job in the state, but Rex holds his optimism high. South Carolina's best schools are as good as anywhere in the country, and therein lies the local guide and goals.

Jim Rex