The unified voice of business
South Carolina businesses are committed to improving education in the state and cultivating a strong future workforce. All across the state, businesses large and small are donating time, money and other resources to partner with area schools. Here are just some of the success stories happening every day.
2012 South Carolina Chamber Chairman Jim Reynolds, CEO of Total Comfort Solutions, and S.C. Chamber Executive Committee Member Pamela Lackey, president of AT&T South Carolina, share strategies to prepare the state’s workforce for the future.
AT&T is launching a quarter-billion-dollar campaign to help more students graduate from high school ready for careers and college and to ensure the country is better prepared to meet global competition.
AT&T Aspire, already among the most significant U.S. corporate educational initiatives with more than $100 million invested since 2008, will tackle high school success and college/career readiness for students at-risk of dropping out of high school through a much larger, "socially innovative" approach. The Aspire effort already has impacted more than one million U.S. high school students, helping them prepare for success in the workplace and college.
“Education is the key to unlock the future for young people and help them reach their potential,” said Pamela Lackey, president, South Carolina. “It will take all of us working together and supporting educators’ hard work to continue to improve graduation rates and preparedness for careers and college. American business has an enormous stake in the success of our students. It’s time to commit more innovation and resources to the task.”
The greatly expanded effort centers on a new, $250 million financial commitment planned over five years. AT&T Aspire will build on that commitment by using technology to connect with students in new and more effective ways, such as with interactive gamification, Web-based content and social media. The company will also tap the innovation engine of the AT&T Foundry to look for fresh or atypical approaches to educational obstacles. Finally, AT&T Aspire will capitalize on the power of personal connections in the form of mentoring, internships and other voluntary efforts that involve many of AT&T's approximately 260,000 employees.
RALEIGH, N.C. (April 18, 2012) – The Progress Energy Foundation will invest more than $350,000 in the Carolinas this year to support energy education and workforce development in public schools.
“An investment in our students is an investment in our community and our shared future,” said Lloyd Yates, president and CEO of Progress Energy Carolinas. “To increase awareness and build tomorrow’s energy workforce, we must introduce energy concepts and related skills to students early in their education. Helping students discover the tools they need to be successful can provide that extra push to help them move from good to great in their education and in the workplace.”
Grants were awarded to programs that focus on expanding student and teacher knowledge about energy issues, including alternative energy, energy efficiency and state-of-the-art power systems. The following organizations and programs will receive grants in 2012:
K-12 schools – The company's primary vehicle for supporting K-12 public schools is education foundations. Grants were made to local education foundations in the city of Asheville, and in Buncombe, Cumberland and Wake counties in North Carolina, as well as to foundations in Darlington and Florence counties in South Carolina. Grants will fund energy-education classroom projects.
Teach for America – Funding from Progress Energy provides operating support to allow Teach for America to continue offering services in Eastern North Carolina and to expand the organization’s field of teachers. These teachers have been successful in helping to attain significant gains in student achievement in rural and inner-city schools.
DonorsChoose – Funding from Progress Energy encourages teachers to integrate energy-education lessons into their curricula and provides the resources necessary to do so in a compelling way. Teachers can submit their ideas for energy-education projects on DonorsChoose.org.
North Carolina Agricultural Foundation 4-H – Progress Energy’s support of the North Carolina 4-H Electric Program enables more than 65,000 young people to participate in electric- and energy-conservation programs in their communities.
Communities in Schools (CIS) – Progress Energy funds will be used to maintain and improve CIS of Wake County’s after-school tutorial program. The company is also continuing its support for CIS North Carolina to help build new CIS programs in Progress Energy communities.
Wayne Community College (K-12 outreach) – Funding will support Camp Kilowatt, a summer day camp for high school and middle school students interested in alternative energy.
North Carolina New Schools Project (NCNSP) – This grant supports NCNSP in creating a network of innovative high schools that incorporate focused study on energy challenges.
South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics – This grant supports new academic programming in energy studies, expands scholarship resources for students studying in these areas, and sustains outreach programs that benefit middle and high school students in the Pee Dee region.
Supporting education is one part of Progress Energy’s investment in nonprofit partners in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The company’s grants also focus on the environment, economic vitality and employee involvement. During 2011, Progress Energy invested approximately $9 million in the communities it serves. The Progress Energy Foundation is funded each year by the company’s board of directors from shareholder funds.
Columbia, S.C. - April 13, 2012 - Recognized leader in HVAC solutions, Total Comfort Solutions registers a federally-recognized apprenticeship program for HVAC Technicians. Apprenticeship Carolina™, an integral part of the SC Technical College System, announced today that Total Comfort Solutions is sponsoring a structured three-year program that will offer classroom and practical hands-on experience for their HVAC technicians. Working closely with Midlands Technical College, Total Comfort Solutions will provide in-depth education and training on such topics as, customer relations skills, advanced troubleshooting techniques, systems and components maintenance and systems diagnostics and repair. "People development is a core value of Total Comfort Solutions," said Jim Reynolds, chief executive officer of Total Comfort Solutions. "Apprenticeship Carolina provides a structured training model that enables our staff to provide solutions that will aid in keeping our clients globally competitive." An apprenticeship is a time-tested method of employee development that combines supervised on-the-job learning and job-related education. A program "registered" with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) shows an employer's visible commitment to developing a high-quality workforce that meets nationally recognized training standards. Total Comfort Solution's apprenticeship program is 36 months in length with approximately 435 hours of job-related education. "Midlands Technical College has a long history of partnership with Total Comfort Solutions as an employer of graduates in the colleges HVAC programs and as mutual advocates for the importance of technical training necessary for a strong skilled crafts workforce in the community," said Marshall (Sonny) White, Jr., president of Midlands Technical College. "The college offers enthusiastic support of Total Comfort Solutions, now approved for an HVAC Technician apprenticeship program through Apprenticeship Carolina." "The effectiveness of apprenticeship as a career development tool is becoming quite clear in South Carolina. Through the work of Apprenticeship Carolina™, the number of companies sponsoring registered apprenticeship programs has more than tripled. And, this number promises to grow," said Brad Neese, director of Apprenticeship Carolina™. "As more organizations across the state begin to realize the benefits of registered apprenticeships, Apprenticeship Carolina™ and the technical colleges of South Carolina look forward to working with them to provide the necessary assistance and training." Total Comfort Solutions, a commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) company, offers the skilled development and delivery of innovative HVAC solutions to clients. We serve all industries with a specialization in mid- to large-sized facilities in the healthcare, industrial, technology, institutional, and office markets. Total Comfort Solutions began in 1976 with only two employees in one location. Since then, our footprint has grown to five locations across South Carolina and eastern Georgia. For most of our history, our name was "Total Comfort Service Center." In 2010, we became Total Comfort Solutions to better reflect what we offer to our clients: not just skillful, prompt maintenance of their HVAC systems, but also the ideas, opportunities, and research to help them better meet their goals. It's our vision to be recognized as the leading HVAC solutions company in the communities we serve, and we are on a path toward reaching that goal through a combination of great staff, exceptional service, and cutting-edge industry knowledge. For more information about Total Comfort Solutions, visit www.totalcomfortsolutions.com. Apprenticeship Carolina™ is an integral part of the SC Technical College System that works to ensure all employers in South Carolina have access to the information and technical assistance they need to create demand-driven registered apprenticeship programs. Apprenticeship consultants are available to guide companies through the registered apprenticeship development process from initial information to full recognition in the National Registered Apprenticeship System. These services are available to South Carolina employers free of charge. Interested employers are encouraged to contact Apprenticeship Carolina™ at (803) 896-5287 or to visit www.apprenticeshipcarolina.com.
The Kiss Your Brain South Carolina video documentary showcases South Carolina high school and technical school students who share their compelling stories and their determination to become graduates.
Clemson, S.C. (January 3, 2012) – South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science at Clemson University, has begun a research and innovation program to identify reading, writing and communications strategies that make science and mathematics more accessible to middle grades students. Boeing is supporting Inquiring Minds: Reading to Learn and Innovate in Mathematics and Science at the level of $750,000 over a three-year period in the form of a challenge grant.
“Why is a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) coalition focusing on reading, writing and communications strategies? Because state assessment results show a strong correlation between students’ difficulties with reading informational texts and failure to meet standards in mathematics and science,” says Dr. Tom Peters, Executive Director of the Coalition.
Peters adds, “Reading to learn is just as critical as learning to read, especially when it comes to STEM education. We need to tap into the learning potential of all children.”
Boeing’s challenge grant will fund research at ten middle school sites still to be determined and engage communities in support of STEM education.
South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science is seeking additional partners to join in the challenge.
Dr. Walt Tobin, President of Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and Coalition advisory board member, cites the significant numbers of students entering two-year colleges who require reading skills improvement as evidence for supporting this research. States Tobin, “A study of disciplinary literacy will help identify ways to remediate faster and more effectively with students who struggle with the technical nature of the programs and courses offered at the two-year level.”
Inquiring Minds middle schools will be selected from applicants that meet specific criteria. S2TEM Centers SC, a statewide network of STEM education support specialists, will provide ongoing, on-site support to participating teachers.
Learn more about Inquiring Minds: Reading to Learn and Innovate in Mathematics and Science by contacting Dr. Tom Peters at 864-656-1863 or tpeters@clemson.edu.
The Verizon Foundation has awarded South Carolina schools $74,500 in grants to raise teachers’ awareness of the free educational resources available from Thinkfinity.org and to train teachers to integrate these resources into the classroom. Included in this investment is a $24,500 grant for the South Carolina Department of Education.
Additionally, several other South Carolina schools received funds totaling $50,000 to enhance their Science Technology and Math (STEM) programs using free resources at Thinkfinity.org.Thinkfinity.org contains thousands of free, engaging educational resources that make learning fun, including K-12 lesson plans, in-class activities and videos that can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject. Thinkfinity.org resources are aligned to state and national standards and offer elementary through high school teachers resources across eight academic disciplines, from science to English to mathematics, to improve student achievement.
In South Carolina, high school students choose to major in one of 16 clusters of study. One of those clusters is manufacturing and only 2% of students choose manufacturing as a career in their education plan. That’s a problem, since manufacturing accounts for 9% of projected job openings in the next decade.
Hartsville, S.C. – An unparalleled public-private partnership has been formed to implement a comprehensive scholastic excellence program in Hartsville public schools that will expand curriculum opportunities and further improve student achievement through collaborative academic and social development initiatives.
The PULSE (Partners for Unparalleled Local Scholastic Excellence) Program is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership involving the Darlington County School District, the South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics (GSSM), Coker College and Sonoco. Sonoco will fund the initiative through a $5 million grant that will be paid over five years.
The South Carolina Chamber would like to thank the following:
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