After Obama Spotlight, a Rural District Saw Progress, More Challenges

Education Week: In 2007, when U.S. Senator Barack Obama was running for president, he visited the public schools here in flat, sandy Dillon County, part of South Carolina’s so-called “Corridor of Shame,” a poor region that stretches from north to south along Interstate 95. Obama toured the old J.V. Martin Middle School, part of which dated to 1896 and was still in use.

The building still had a furnace fueled by coal. Students in Dillon had little access to Advanced Placement courses, art and music; and teacher salaries were much lower than in other parts of the state.

Read article