Education and Economic Development Act:
Getting South Carolina Ready for the World
June 20, 2006: Anita Zucker, who has been very active in education and has a terrific passion for developing children’s skills and abilities, introduced our speaker. Ann Marie Stieritz is the owner of AMSC Consulting, LLC and is currently contracted to serve as the Statewide Coordinator for the establishment of Regional Education Centers mandated under the South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA).
Ms. Stieritz brings an international background in both education and economic development to her work. She served as the Assistant Director/Vice President of the Ponape Agriculture and Trade School, the only academic and technical high school serving students from across the Micronesian region in the Central Pacific. She also taught English with the United States Peace Corps in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. She holds degrees from Xavier University in Ohio, the Universite de Paris, la Sorbonne, and New York University. In addition to her many activities, she is a member of the Columbia Rotary Club and is the incoming Chair of the Club’s World Community Service Committee and has been involved with the Guatemala Literacy Project of Rotary International.
Her program, Pathways to Success: Preparing All South Carolina Students to Compete in the Global Economy, showed the change in vision and direction for the State with the publishing of the Education and Economic Development Act in 2005. It showed the challenge of globalization and how South Carolina students lagged behind somewhere between 49th and 50th depending on the state. Workforce Gap, which is the gap between what is needed and what students possess upon graduation, is significant in this state, and our future growth and economic prosperity rests on narrowing that gap. To narrow the gap and provide greater skills with a new approach that is different than the traditional role in the past, students now have their Personal Graduation Plan based on their objectives along with family input.
A goal of the program is to get one Guidance Counselor per 300 students to help students understand what is needed to develop their plan. The program has 16 career cluster areas that not only provide career awareness, but also provide skills and work habits that enable students to move into the workforce. This promotes a more rigorous education, as well as being relevant to students’ needs.
From kindergarten through fifth grade the focus is career awareness. Grades 6 through 8 focus on career exploration, assessment, and investigation. In grade 8 the students develop a long-term goal and choose the career cluster. In grades 9 through 12 the students prepare their career and post secondary education, such as college, employment, and career placement.
It is in all of our best interests to develop the workforce and as business owners we can do a great deal to help. Giving students the opportunity to learn through job shadowing and lending expertise to schools is helpful. Also, we can support the policy makers and help the Regional Education Centers become a reality. Become a “Positive Ambassador” to help make the South Carolina Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) successful.
Submitted by Wayne Outlaw, Keyway Committee