On Saturday, April 1, the education department at Presbyterian College will host the third annual Charles Chadwell Special Education Institute. The workshop is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Chapman Conference Center in Jacobs Hall.

The institute will include a day-long workshop entitled, “Challenges and Opportunities for Students with Disabilities: Why Poverty Matters and Why Schools can Matter More,” led by Dr. Tammy Pawloski.

Pawloski is a professor of education and director of the Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty at Francis Marion University. She has devoted the last 10 years to the study of children of poverty—why they struggle and which strategies have the greatest impact.

She has led more than 500 professional learning events for teachers, school leaders, and stakeholders and engages her audiences with a combination of research, practice, and compelling stories from the field.

Registration includes continental breakfast and deli buffet lunch and is completely free. Teachers, administrators, school staff, and others who work with children in poverty and children with disabilities are invited to attend. Space is limited to the first 50 registrants.

This event is made possible by the Charles H. Chadwell Endowment for Special Education, which was established at Presbyterian College in 1984 by Francis E. Cothran and his wife Jean Syminton Cothran. Their son, Billy, was a resident of the Whitten Center, an institution in Clinton for individuals with disabilities when Dr. Charles Chadwell was the superintendent.

The endowment is designed to be used for scholarship awards for students who plan to continue their education in the field of special education, and to provide seminars, lectures, or workshops led by recognized authorities in fields related to special education, which will promote a better understanding of the circumstances faced by individuals with disabilities and their families.