Regional Education Centers

Introduction

Regional Education Centers are being set up across South Carolina to create a network of local service providers to help students and adults access the guidance and opportunities they need to become the prepared employees the state needs to compete and excel in the global economy.

One center is being established online in each of the 12 regions of the state.

The centers are primarily “virtual,” to support the vision of coordination of service delivery and information for students, educators, adult learners and the business community across diverse, multi-county regions.

Advisory boards oversee the development and maintenance of their center. Among their first duties is to hire a coordinator to help execute the goals of the center.

Each board is comprised of a school district superintendent, a high school principal, the local workforce investment board chairperson, a technical college president, a four-year college or university representative, a career center director or school district career and technology education coordinator, a parent-teacher organization representative and business and civic leaders within the community.

For more information, please visit our Regional Education Center FAQ. To learn how to get involved with your local Regional Education Center, click here.

Regional Education Center Rollout Schedule

Following the establishment of the Regional Education Centers (RECs) in the pilot regions of the Pee Dee and the Midlands, the rollout to the remaining regions will proceed based on a lottery system that alternates between urban and rural regions.  However, in cases where stakeholders in a region can demonstrate the development of partnerships that will advance and facilitate the REC start-up process, the Committee will advance that region to the next available slot in the rollout schedule. Such support must be demonstrated to the REC Committee through the submission of a signed letter of support from the following parties from the region:

1. the technical college president(s);
2. a four-year college or university president;
3. the tech prep consortia (a.k.a. education and business alliances) director(s);
4. the local Workforce Investment Board chairperson;
5. a minimum of two (2) school district superintendents (except in the case of a single district region);
6. a minimum of three (3) business leaders, chambers of commerce or business association leaders from different counties of the region (except in the case of a single county region).

Requests for advancement in the rollout process will be considered in the order in which signed documentation is received by the REC Committee. 

As of November 1, 2007, the rollout order and status is as follows:

1. Pee Dee – Pilot – first meeting October 26, 2006
   Administrative Partner: Florence-Darlington Technical College
   Fiscal Agent: Florence-Darlington Technical College
   Coordinator: Cheryl Lewis

2. Midlands – Pilot – first meeting November 1, 2006
   Administrative Partner: Midlands Education and Business Alliance (MEBA)
   Fiscal Agent: Lexington School District 4
   Coordinator: Dr. Kaye K. Shaw

3. Trident – first meeting January 25, 2007
   Administrative Partner: The Education Foundation (Chaston.-Metro Chamber)
   Fiscal Agent: Trident Technical College
   Coordinator: Patricia Ferguson

4. Upper Savannah – first meeting April 20, 2007
   Administrative Partner: Western Piedmont Education Consortium (WPEC)
   Fiscal Agent: Western Piedmont Education Consortium (WPEC)
   Coordinator: Dr. Cynthia Pitts

5. Greenville – first meeting May 24, 2007
   Administrative Partner: Greenville County School District
   Fiscal Agent: Greenville County School District
   Coordinator: Jay Blankenship

6. Waccamaw – first meeting June 14, 2007
   Administrative Partner: Horry-Georgetown Technical College
   Fiscal Agent: Horry-Georgetown Technical College
   Coordinator: Patty Shortt

7. Lowcountry – first meeting October 10, 2007
   Administrative Partner: Technical College of the Lowcountry
   Fiscal Agent: Technical College of the Lowcountry
   Coordinator: TBD

8. Pendleton – first meeting October 31, 2007
   Administrative Partner: Tri-County Technical College
   Fiscal Agent: Tri-County Technical College
   Coordinator: TBD

9. Upstate – first meeting December 5, 2007
   Administrative Partner: TBD
   Fiscal Agent: TBD
   Coordinator: TBD

10. Lower Savannah – all appointment requests submitted

11. Catawba – preliminary discussions in progress
    
    
12. Santee-Lynches - preliminary discussions being scheduled

The timing of the rollout to each region is dependent upon the progress made in the preceding region in the process. All RECs will be established by December 2007. The rollout will be facilitated by the Statewide Coordinator in consultation with the REC Committee.