The Palmetto Education Summit 2026

Young people are surrounded by adults every day—teachers, coaches, administrators, bus drivers, parents, and community members—yet many students still struggle to find the consistent encouragement and guidance they need to thrive. Schools often think of mentoring as a formal role assigned to a small number of people, but the reality is that mentoring happens in everyday interactions. The challenge is not a lack of caring adults—it is the absence of a shared framework and practical tools that help people recognize and use their influence intentionally. This session explores the idea that everyone in a school community has the potential to be a mentor. Participants will examine how everyday interactions can become meaningful mentoring moments that help students develop confidence, resilience, and direction. The session also highlights the importance of structured mentoring frameworks and tools that help schools and communities move from good intentions to consistent, meaningful support for young people. Participants will be introduced to mentoring strategies drawn from youth development research and practical mentoring models such as the GOODLIFE mentoring framework, which provides tools and structured conversations that help mentors guide students toward stronger decision-making, relationships, and future direction. The session will also highlight how schools can expand their impact by engaging families and community partners in mentoring efforts. This workshop is being proposed as a collaborative session with Real Champions, Inc., a South Carolina organization dedicated to empowering young people through mentorship and leadership development. Together, the presenters will explore how schools and community partners can work side-by-side to create stronger mentoring networks around students. Participants leave with a clearer understanding of the power of mentoring, practical tools they can use immediately, and ideas for building mentoring partnerships that strengthen support for students both inside and outside the classroom. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the role every adult can play as a mentor, practical strategies for building meaningful mentoring relationships with students, exposure to structured mentoring tools and frameworks that help guide conversations and student growth, ideas for engaging community organizations and volunteers in mentoring, and examples of how schools and community partners can work together to create mentoring networks that support students.

Something fundamental shifted in parenting culture over the past decades. What was once considered normal childhood—walking to a friend’s house, playing unsupervised, handling age-appropriate responsibilities—became labeled as “neglect.” Meanwhile, anxiety and depression in young people skyrocketed. This session explores the cultural transformation from trust-based to fear-based parenting, unpacking how media narratives, legal ambiguity, and parental anxiety created this shift—and what the research actually tells us about child safety and development. Discover the real data on childhood danger, examine the disconnect between perceived and actual risk, and explore how we collectively decided that constant adult supervision was not only necessary but good parenting. Perfect for educators, administrators, and school counselors seeking to understand and teach that giving kids room to grow isn’t risky—it’s essential.

Every day we make choices that shape not only our own paths but also the options available to those around us—yet in our schools and homes, we've created environments where children rarely experience authentic choice, leading to unprecedented levels of anxiety, apathy, and failure to launch. In this interactive session, Let Grow's Executive Director will explore the critical difference between authentic choices (which build competence and internal locus of control) and manufactured choices (which can erode trust and fail to develop decision-making capacity). Participants will learn to recognize opportunities for shifting from micromanagement to authentic autonomy, discovering how childhood serves as the training ground for building "choice muscles" in young people while helping adults develop trust in children's capabilities.