South Carolina teachers and principals are using terms like “phenomenal” and “a confidence booster” to describe $4.6 million in teacher merit-based bonuses distributed through Beemok Education’s Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Some 526 teachers in 39 schools across the state earned an average bonus of $8,800, Beemok officials said about the public-private partnership. The largest bonus was $57,250.

For Charleston County English teacher Sydney Carroll, that $57,250 bonus is “life-changing.”

“I’ve been a teacher my whole life,” she told Statehouse Report. “So I’ve just never seen that amount of money.”

Beemok Education is the brainchild of Charleston philanthropists Ben and Kelly Navarro. In addition to the teacher bonus program, Beemok funds four high-performing schools in Charleston a

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