BBC + Dr. Stephen Peters' "Culture of Success"

March 03, 2016

Dr. Stephen Peters

Giving Hope to At-Risk Students

With over 32 years spent on the frontline of education, Dr. Stephen Peters has risen to the challenge of any role he’s had to take on. He has not only exceeded roles ranging from classroom teacher to director of secondary education but consistently brings about significant progress in any school he’s had involvement in. Hence, many of these schools have received both National and State Blue-Ribbon recognition! Through his position as CEO of The Peters Group, multiple award-winning books and initiatives such as Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Club program, Dr. Peters has become a key thought leader in education. The Gentlemen’s Club was featured on The Oprah Winfrey show, “America, America,” and now, the British Broadcasting Corporation has its sights set on the positive buzz at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. 

Dr. Peters became principal of Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School less than a year ago and is already creating waves big enough to be felt across the pond. His “culture of excellence” program has garnered the interest of filmmakers Marcus Plowright and Laura McCutheon who will be following its impact on students’ and community members’ lives over the next year:

“We’ve chosen this school because of what Dr. Peters is doing here,” he said. “We found out about what he was doing a long time ago, and we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to come into the school and witness it for the next year,” Plowright said.

Plowright and McCutheon are in the process of filming a documentary series which chronicles milestones in the lives of high school students in South Carolina. The number of office referrals went from 503 to 124 and the number of suspensions from 194 to 54 in just one year! 

“Several O-W seniors recently spoke to The Times and Democrat about their school and the BBC documentary. Several said O-W has shown great improvements this year and they think Peters has a great deal to do with the school’s success."

Dr. Peters names three very important facilitators of change at Orangeburg-Wilkinson:

• "...we’ve given the school back to the community, and the community has rallied behind everything we’ve tried to do on behalf of the children." 
• "...an atmosphere at school that 'empowers teachers and makes them look forward to getting in their cars in the morning and driving to Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School because they feel this is the best environment for them to work."
• "...culture of kids who want to do the right thing and teachers who “take ownership of teaching the students in their rooms instead of sending them out for minor infractions."

Want to bring Stephen's culture of excellence to your next event? Let us know here. We'd love to help make it happen! 

Source: thetandd.com