MISSION READY WITH UNITED WAY'S RICHARD WILLIAMS JR 8/10/26

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Uh and Richard Williams Jr. is joining us right now. Good morning, sir.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Good morning, Liz.

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Uh I just wanted to let everybody know, and I think I I gotta mention this on the air, but I definitely talked about it on the Facebook Live that Ori County Schools has implemented a syntagic, I don't know how to say it, crisis badge alert system across all campuses this school year. So it's like a uh like a key card, and depending on the number of times they press it in a row, it alerts the um, I guess the emergency services alert system in the school of that person's location and the nature of you know, I guess what's going on. Yeah, one button is something, two is something, three is something. Exactly, exactly. And I I think what do you know about it, if anything, Richard, from your circle?

SPEAKER_00 0:51

Um, I just know that they were uh installing it all last year and we they had a lot of conversations about it, and I'm really excited about it because I'm I'm worried about the safety of our kids in schools and uh the fact that we've got this first alarm uh system in the schools is really making me feel at ease sending three children to Ori County schools. Um knowing that uh it also locks doors and it um Oh wow. Yeah, and so it really and it pinpoints exactly where the uh the trouble is, either it could be on the school ground, anywhere on that school ground. Uh so I think it's amazing um for for our for our staff and uh our kids.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yeah, it also says there are a few new educational programs being rolled out, including a certified nursing assistant pathway program launching at Loris and Green C. Floyd High Schools. Additionally, a middle college dual enrollment program with HGTC will begin at uh St. James High School. The district is also expanding its IB Middle School Years program at Myrtle Beach Middle School, and expanding the IB pathway program. I don't know what IB stands for, at Myrtle Beach High School. And of course, uh new real estate course is coming to Soccer State High School, first ever 3DE program in South Carolina being rolled out at Conway High School, and phase two of the Rise with Reading program, I know something near and dear to your heart, beginning a new initiative to reduce unnecessary classroom screen time. Uh I don't know if you've heard about that program.

SPEAKER_00 2:28

I think we talked about it a little bit the last time we were on that they're gonna eliminate some of that screen time just because we know that that is not really good for our children's brains. I mean it's it's making them a lot lazier, you know. You know, so it's it's become a handicap really for our uh kids.

SPEAKER_02 2:47

So it's actually having not only no i impact in a good way, but detrimental impact. Absolutely. Absolutely. And not only that, but impacting their eyes. A lot of uh eye uh doctors are coming out and saying you gotta protect these kids' eyes, the strain and and how this affects these um growing children with their eyes and their eye health.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 3:10

It's very uh because they're we're looking, we're all looking at screens way too much.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

We are. Um and you know, we we know that just watching those screens and the fact that everything on the screens is going like seven seconds, like every video is like seven seconds. So it's really charging that brain to move faster than what it's designed to do. And so that's why we're having trouble with kids sitting down, paying attention, because we've we've wired those brains to do that, and we're wondering why the brain isn't operating the way it's supposed to. We've wired it to go so fast because everything gets so uh at our fingertips and really, really.

SPEAKER_02 3:47

That's not even fast enough for me. I go scroll, scroll, scroll. I'm like a super duper.

SPEAKER_00 3:51

If it doesn't grab your teacher really quick, you you're moving on to the next thing.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

I give you two seconds to do that.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

And so, you know, that's competing against teaching. You know, so yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:59

Yeah, that and uh if you ever read about how blue impact uh blue light impacts your brain and your mood, the blue light is really detrimental to um sleep patterns and all of that. So even looking at blue light um prior to going to bed is very bad. Um yeah, you gotta look at it. You know, like when you drive by people's homes and you see the blue light, you know it's TV, that is so bad for you.

SPEAKER_01 4:26

And my glasses at work are blue light blockers. My glasses are for looking at computers and stuff because we do it so much. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:35

Yeah. And so it's very bad for your mental state.

SPEAKER_01 4:38

That's why I'm so not mental.

SPEAKER_02 4:41

That's why people are hypnotized. It's the blue light. You didn't know that? Yeah, the blue light is very, very dangerous for your health.

SPEAKER_00 4:51

Wow. And I sleep with it all night.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

You do? The TV? Yeah, I sleep with it all night.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Don't tell my wife gotta turn that television off.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

Yeah. A lot of people ban they ban the TV from and phones from their bedrooms because it's just bad energy.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Yeah, I know people who do. And I'm I guess I grew I didn't grow up with a television in my bedroom. And so now I'm like trying to catch up.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

Remember, no phones and no TVs in your bedroom, and then you got the cordless phone, and you're like, ooh, I get to go all the way in my bedroom with my phone. Like nowadays, right? Crazy. Okay. Let's focus on the United Way and you being the education director, Richard Williams Jr.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

That's my name.

SPEAKER_02 5:31

What you got?

SPEAKER_00 5:32

So I just want to talk about, you know, getting ready for next week. Uh, and you know, there's some parent traps that we can kind of avoid. I think uh school starts on Wednesday, right? Next Wednesday, the 19th. Uh and so many of you How about Georgetown? They're already in I think they already started.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

I think you are, but you focus on Ori County.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Yeah, I'm talking about Ori County. Um, Georgetown, you're too late at this point.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Um, so those of you in Ori County, school will start on next Wednesday. Uh, we don't want to get in the parent trap of starting getting into our routine on Tuesday. This is a good day to get started. I was as I was riding here today, I'm like, the party is over for my three children.

SPEAKER_02 6:15

Like, we got to get the backpacks in order.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

You gotta get everything in order, going to bed on time. Um, one of the things that we can do starting this week is uh taking 30 minutes off of our of our time to like 30 minutes earlier every day until we get to the time. Because my kids have been staying up. I mean, I go to bed and they're still up. So at this point, this week is when we're gonna start making that time a little shorter so that by next Wednesday, we're actually at the time that we need to go to bed and then get up with ready brains. So you wanna set those alarms, those clocks.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

And I bet you there's also a conversation everyone can have about starting afresh and new and excitement to do this, and this is why it's so important to get the sleep you need. That's right, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

So I would start having these conversations. You know, one of the basics is convert conversating and conversing with each other, uh, asking those questions. What are you excited about? What are you nervous about? Getting all the jitters out, having those things, having those talks will be good. Also, practice the morning, practice uh the morning before it counts. So I would next week uh start rehearsing, actually getting up and getting a breakfast, like on Monday. Getting up, getting a breakfast, going somewhere so that we can get in this routine, especially if you've got a kindergartner who's never been to school. Um, you don't want to get them ready, make sure they can put their backpacks on, make sure they know how to unzip them and put it up and making sure that because that's kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness is not just can I do I know my ABCs and one, two, threes. Kindergarten readiness is can I self-regulate? Can I tie my shoe or at least, you know, uh pull my pants up and zip my pants.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

They're little babies when it's, you know. So we gotta practice these things. Yeah, they must be I you know, I can't remember um going to kindergarten, but I do remember like trying to follow all the rules. And I do remember some kids not having the emotional stability to handle being in school and following all these rules and having outbursts in the classroom.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

Yeah, and imagine now we got helicopter parents who these kids have never been away from their parents.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Right. Didn't go to daycare.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Didn't go to daycare, they they've never been away from home. This is the week to really get it practiced and having these conversations about, you know, going to new things and new experiences and the joy of having these new experiences and being able to talk about your day. It's gonna be scary.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Especially if they have to get on a bus and manage those big old bus steps.

SPEAKER_00 9:01

Do you remember, you know, riding to uh being a car rider was really uh popular? You were like a popular kid around here. Yeah, yeah. It was a big it was a big thing. It's a big deal to be a car rider. Now everybody's a car rider. Yeah, it rides to be a good one.

SPEAKER_02 9:16

Yeah. Well, I always used to say, because my kids used to take the bus to school, and you know, a two-minute ride is like uh forever because they have to make all these stops. And I always used to say, if we can eliminate bus time and recess, I would have no problems with my children in school. Like everything bad happens on the bus and during recess, during unstructured time. And it it it's like if we can just fix that, parents would be more comfortable allowing their kids to ride. But it really is a a protection thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:50

It is a protection thing. Caleb, my Caleb is uh 13, he's going to eighth grade, but at the end of this school year was the first time he'd ever ridden the bus. But he begged us to ride the bus.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

And we prayed and it's really odd because I prayed that I would not have to ride the bus.

SPEAKER_00 10:08

Now riding the bus is cool. Yeah, you know, I'm just like, I I wanted to be a car rider.

SPEAKER_02 10:13

Yeah, that is like a luxury.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

We are dropping you off every day, and you don't want you want to ride the bus.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Door-to-door service. Like, people pay a lot of money for that.

SPEAKER_00 10:21

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

He wants to ride the bus. He's just free time with his friends.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

I guess that's right.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Okay. So kids are so complicated. And every single one is different.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

You can feed them the same things and they come out different. I've got three. We're feeding them the same things at the same time, but they just How many siblings do you have? I just have uh one sister.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

We're a lot alike, but my kids are not. They're all different, right?

SPEAKER_02 10:53

That's interesting. All right. What else he can do?

SPEAKER_00 10:56

And then parents need a routine too.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

And we're bad at that too.

SPEAKER_00 11:00

Oh, God. So so when the kids have been off, we've been off. And my kids are all scattered right now. So Jenna Grace comes back today. Johnson Parker's been with his grandparents. Caleb, our oldest, has been at the house with us. So he's he's really cool. He's been locked in the bedroom for weeks. Um but and so we've kind of like kind of coasted and done our own things. We've not eaten together at the table like we always do. I mean, we a lot of our routine is is old. Disrupted. It's just been disrupted. So we need to get back on track this week, get our brains right, get our, you know, everything, you know, uh settled.

SPEAKER_02 11:36

So And that's what kids need.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Oh, they thrive off of that.

SPEAKER_02 11:46

And they need just that clear understanding really helps.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

You know, our kids have been gone. Uh my daughter is in Rock Hill with a great aunt, and Parker is with his grandparents, so we've got to like redo our children. We've got we're gonna need this week and a half to reset.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Well, maybe they learned some some some good stuff.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

Oh, they got a lot of love and a lot of food. No structure whatsoever. So structure has to come back this week. So parents put your foot down. You have to say no this week to get their kids back on track on schedule.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Sets them up for success.

SPEAKER_00 12:23

Yeah, because next week it's gonna be, you know, you you gotta do it. Next week, they're gonna be in a classroom, they're gonna be expected to follow instructions, to listen, to sit down. And you don't want to just throw them into that. We want to go ahead and just reroute those brains, reroute those hearts and minds and get them all set up. So um hopefully we're helping some teachers today so that they can get some well-rounded students on next Wednesday.

SPEAKER_02 12:52

I want to let you get through this list. I keep interrupting you, but I think let's finish our list. Well, is that it?

SPEAKER_00 12:57

I think I had one more thing I wanted to say. Um that was it.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Okay. That was it, Liz. All right. So we know what we're doing. Now, what are you what is the United Way doing uh to help people? I know you have uh, you know, a lot of parents are thinking, okay, their kids heading off to pre-K or uh they're thinking already thinking about kindergarten.

SPEAKER_00 13:19

Yes, so the pre-K parents, I'm so excited about the ReadySet Kindergarten. Uh that's going to be announced this week. Our partnership with HTC, they are supporting it full. Uh they're giving us a lot of money to make sure that the RadySet kindergarten is expanded throughout the county. Of course, we did the um the pilot at Conway Elementary uh last spring. And so this uh fall we are uh kicking off our full Rady Set Kindergarten program with six schools. Can I name them? Sure. Conway Elementary, Daisy Elementary, Greensea Elementary, Socasty Elementary, St. James, and did I say Daisy?

SPEAKER_02 14:02

Yes. Myrtle Beach. It's not Myrtle Beach. Uh Carolina Forest. Out of brain fart! I was going to- Loris Long's?

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Not Loris, not Long's. Conway, Greensea, Daisy, St. James, Soc St. James, Socusty. There's another S. Seaside.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Seaside is there. There's another S.

SPEAKER_00 14:23

Those three S's. Yes. Uh, so we're excited about that. Uh, the way to set kindergarten is that uh Saturday that your four-year-old can go to the kindergarten classroom, learn all the things that they need to know about getting uh ready for kindergarten. You can see what that looks like, and then we have a little checklist and we can check off uh if your children can check off all these boxes and they're ready. If they can't check off those boxes, you'll know exactly what to do in order to get them ready for kindergarten. So I'm really excited about it. Parents really gave us a great feedback last year that they were able to see it because now in Ory County schools, you can't walk your kid to kindergarten anymore. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_02 15:04

No. Oh, parents, I don't I hope they're you know, it's so funny that parents are always the bad guy.

SPEAKER_00 15:10

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

They're not the bad guy.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

They're not the bad guy. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:13

But for some reason, well, I mean, this all started when my kids were in school in 2000, but in New York. You know, um, when my kids started going to school in the year 2000, it's like, oh, you can't be in here even if you're a PTA mom and this and that. You know, you get background checked and everything. And it's like, why are we the bad guy? I know, I know. I hate it because uh But it is, I guess, disruptive and well, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:38

I think dur for us, it was during COVID, and then they realized it was more efficient to get parents, parents out, and then kids, you know, falling out and having tantrums when they're leaving their parents. So, I mean, I can understand it, but ready set kindergarten allowed the parents to actually sit into a classroom and see how their children would behave in a class, how they would, you know, mend with other students. And so parents walked away from Radistat kindergarten thinking, oh, I didn't realize that my kid is ready, or oh, they're not so ready. I know what I can do. So we were able to sell it to HTC and they're supporting it and making sure that all of our kids. So we'll we'll reach about almost 700 children this school year with Radyset Kindergarten.

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Okay. Awesome. Well, if you want to find out more, it's our time is up already, Richard. Uh go to unitedway.org.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

Um, and you'll find out more information about that, or you can text.

SPEAKER_00 16:37

We don't have a text anymore.

SPEAKER_02 16:39

The basics is gone.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Oh, we have the basics, but we don't have the text message for the basics because we've we've changed our platform. So you can go to that same website and get the basics as well. Excellent.

SPEAKER_02 16:49

Okay, well, there you go. Well, thank you so much. Thank you so much, Liz. Always good to be here. And good luck in school. Oh my gosh. We'll be back in a moment.