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F I R S T 5 0 Y EAR S
people to Germany for BMW and had them trained over there
to come back and train workers, and we screen them under the
then Special Schools program. We should never forget it. But it’s
all the other jobs we fill every day that really relate to economic
development because it puts people to work, especially when you
look at the rural areas.”
CAUTIONARY TALES
On July 1, 2007, Special Schools assumed a new identity. The
flagship program became readySC™.
Perhaps you’ve heard “It not only has to be right. It has to look
right.” Add “sound right,” too. Changing times caught up with
training legend Special Schools.
“I began to get feedback,” said Dr. JimHudgins, “from the De-
partment of Commerce that some of their industries were con-
cerned about the term ‘Special Schools.’”
Overtones can inflict damage. Public schools had “special”
programs for cognitively challenged students, and in reference to
the system’s Special Schools, some industry people asked, “Is this
a quality program?”
About that time, Dr. Hudgins went to the Department of Ed-
ucation. “On a table were tons of handouts with ‘Special Schools’
printed on the front.”
Hudgins picked one up. The brochure sought funding for
disabled students. “We had to get away from Special Schools.
Mainly, those out-of-state saw it as a negative. And so we went
The Center for Accelerated Technology Training becomes readySC
™
Pictured from left to right
– Kelly Steinhilper and Russ Darnall
2001 2002
2001:
Governor’s Workforce Education Task Force issued
Pathways to Prosperity
, recommending career clusters
and curriculum alignment.
2002:
Significant budget reductions began. Passage of the
South
Carolina Education Lottery Act
authorized the use of lottery
proceeds to fund SC residents attending two-year colleges
beginning in the academic year of 2002-03.
The 2000s
F L Y I N G H I G H
