Oct 23, 2020 | News
Dr. Galen DeHay, President, Tri-County Technical College
Welcome Terence Roberts, TATT Chairman
Guest Presentation Dr. Galen DeHay, President, Tri-County Technical College
You can watch the video recap here.
You can view the presentation here.
TCTC has created a safe on-campus learning and working environment, delivering high quality learning experiences for the 2020-21 academic year
Students include 17 to 60+ year olds
Changes and new methods include restructured fall instruction and redesigned virtual enrollment experience
Online training of faculty, advisors, coaches
Librarians and tutoring embedded into classes
Communications include town halls, open virtual office hours, weekly blogs
40-50% of employees on campus any given day with a mix of telework
Virtual and drive-in job fairs
Student Workforce Completion Fund for emergency funds for students and more to come
Students of color, low income students have been impacted heavily
Despite many challenges, resiliency is focused on with priorities to fit college into students’ lives, expand workforce pipeline, build new partnership, and strengthen community relationships.
TCTC is a great choice for quality, support, and cost.
TATT Updates Dean Hybl, TATT Executive Director
Events coming up include Upstate Professional Planners, Air Quality Advisory Council, Creating Upstate Unsung Heroes Virtual Event
County Updates
Anderson: Steve Nail, Anderson University
Largest private university in SC
Increase of 7%, 3,848 students
Boarders up 5%
Diversity at 18%, high rate historically
COVID 1% positivity rate
Long winter break starting before Thanksgiving
Greenville: Caroline Robertson, Greer Relief
Able to assist with rent, mortgages for many people with a great team of people and community support
Hiring a data entry person (remotely) 10-15 hours/week for the next year
Gearing up the Greer Christmas Parade on Dec 6th, largest fundraiser
Greenwood: Stephen Gilbert, Greenwood Community Theatre
Tough time in the entertainment industry
Outdoor concerts, we are going to try an outdoor Charlie Brown Christmas in Dec (literacy program)
Struggling with appropriate time to re-open and still be safe and a draw
Oconee: Suzette Cross, Blue Ridge Arts Council
Became involved with TATT through a grant and produced art around Seneca
Work with Hamilton Career Center
Housed in oldest church in Seneca
Have had tree fall on building and tornado damage but moving forward
Hosting Members gallery, art classes starting, and studio open
Working on two new murals in Seneca
Laurens: Amanda Munyan, Laurens Chamber of Commerce
Continuing support through funding, promotions, and education
Laurens City Council approved for reading to sell 66 acres to SK Builders out of Greer for a home development in Laurens
Excited about growth and development in the area
Oct 21, 2020 | News
Dana McConnell, Executive Director, Center for Developmental Services
I remember the moment when CDS first realized we needed a plan for the looming pandemic. It was Monday, March 2, 2020 during our monthly partner meeting with all the organization leaders at CDS. We had just evaluated some of our programs and were about to move on to another topic when Dr. Desmond Kelly of Prisma Health Children’s Hospital asked about CDS’ plan if the coronavirus made its way to South Carolina.
The initial reaction was to pause a moment, allowing the thought to sink in that this virus could actually be a threat to our community. Then I remembered why our collaboration works so well…we benefit from each other’s resources. The response was an assurance that CDS will work with Prisma Health to implement the highest standards recommended to keep our staff and families safe.
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of conversations, emails and decisions between Janine Sally, Director of Kidnetics and the Wonder Center at Prisma Health, and Becky Jones, Director of Operations at CDS. The priority was to keep our building open and continue the critical care our families needed. It was going to take a strong, collaborative effort and compliance from the other partners to keep our doors open. Our partners worked together and stayed in constant communication to keep up with the latest information, guidance and statistics coming out of multiple news outlets.
Salem & Isaac Maud with CDS staff member, Jataun Clark
Before I continue, it’s important give a brief description about CDS. The Center for Developmental Services (CDS) is a nonprofit located in downtown Greenville that links five other nonprofit organizations together to provide multiple services under one roof for children with developmental delays and disabilities. Our partners include Prisma Health (Kidnetics, Developmental Pediatrics, the Wonder Center, and Prosthetics and Orthotics), Clarity, Family Connection, Thrive Upstate, and a medical-legal partnership. Together, we provide evaluation, therapy (speech, occupational, and physical), audiology, psychology, prosthetics, orthotics, legal aid, service coordination, education, and a medically fragile day care all surrounded by a family support network. Our goal is for these disability services in the Upstate to be delivered in the most streamlined, efficient way possible.
The success of our partnership depends largely on the strength of each partner, and that has never been more apparent than in 2020. With guidance from Prisma Health, CDS created a policy to limit the number of people in the building by encouraging family members to wait in their cars for appointments. We have new procedures to disinfect the lobby furniture, hand rails, and other frequently touched surfaces every two hours. We have removed items such as toys and books that are hard to clean, and we have socially distanced all the patient seating.
Prisma Health is utilizing their hospital network to purchase all of our PPE needed for patients and staff throughout the building. Kidnetics orders approximately 700-1,000 masks per week for all the building staff and the families who come to CDS. Kidnetics has also been instrumental in obtaining the disinfectant chemicals that are specifically rated to combat the virus, a product our small nonprofit was unable to obtain.
The Wonder Center has taken the lead on staffing a dedicated nurse at the entrance to take temperature readings and ask the full list of screening questions of every patient, staff member, or guest. If anyone has been exposed recently or is found to have symptoms related to the virus, our policy follows the latest quarantine restrictions to protect the health and safety of our families.
These policies and procedures were the result of multiple stakeholders coming together for a common purpose. Our single, biggest level of success here at CDS this year is that we were able to keep our building open during the height of the pandemic when many other programs and businesses had to temporarily close. I am immensely proud of our partners and the collaboration we share. It is through this collective effort that we are able to serve children and individuals with developmental delays and disabilities so they can get the vital services they need, even during a worldwide pandemic.
Oct 21, 2020 | News
Kenneth Moon, Deputy Director Cherokee County Development Board
Q: When the impact from the pandemic started to hit in March and April, what did you do to touch base with manufacturers and employers in Cherokee County?
A: We quickly reached out to every industrial company in the county. We gave them every bit of information we had to help them weather the storm.
Q: What were their initial concerns and were you able to help address them? Have you seen those evolve over the last six months?
A: Most companies were interested in the process to be deemed essential if the governor decided to close down manufacturing. As time went by, concerns turned to unemployment compensations. An overwhelming number of employers had trouble getting employees to come back due to the extra $600 a week people were receiving on unemployment. They were also concerned with the lack of support they received from DEW Unemployment. Companies were reaching out for help to get people to come back to work, but the DEW system was overwhelmed, and appeals were taking months. Many employers were frustrated as they felt the DEW was not being responsive.
Q: Have there been any issues that were a major surprise?
A: The major issue we experienced in Cherokee County concerned unemployment.
Q: Have you continued to be in-touch with your employers? How important has communications been during this time?
A: Yes, we continually contact employers to ensure they are doing well. Communications have been very important to ensure timely and quality information is given to employers. So far, we have had an accurate assessment on the impacts.
Q: Like in most counties, the unemployment rate in Cherokee County rapidly increased at the start of the pandemic. What is being done in the county to get people back to work?
A: Cherokee County unemployment numbers were so high because of retail and restaurants. Cherokee is a small rural county has an unusually large about of both. The number came down significantly once the restaurants and small retail stores were allowed to open.
Q: There has been discussion about companies wanting to bring manufacturing, especially related to PPE and medical devices, back to the US to reduce supply chain issues. Have you seen an uptick in interest for manufacturers potentially coming to Cherokee County?
A: Cherokee County manufacturing pivoted and many started to produce PPE. Carolina Cotton Works, Parkdale Mills, Wedel Fabrics and Hamrick Mills to name a few. I believe we will continue to see an uptick in production from existing industries.
Q: Are there any issues that you knew needed to be addressed before the pandemic that have been magnified by the pandemic? If so, what are they and are there opportunities for addressing them now?
A: Before the pandemic, an issue that needed to be addressed in our county was workforce training. Once the pandemic hit, a lot of untrained/unskilled workers for retail and service tried to move into manufacturing and warehousing. None had training which caused more issues for industries.
Q: Are there adjustments you have seen employers in Cherokee County make during the pandemic that you think will continue long-term?
A: The pivot to making PPE is one of the adjustments that we foresee continuing into the long-term. Also, many industries here have increased their pay during this time to give pandemic raises of $2-$3 more per hour. The industry is realizing that they get better quality employees when their wages are aligned with the growing industrial base.
Q: Are there any “silver lining” impacts from the pandemic that you think will turn out to be a positive for Cherokee County in the long-term?
A: There are no foreseen “silver lining” impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic that will turn out to be a positive for Cherokee County in the long term.
Oct 14, 2020 | News
Catherine Schumacher, President & CEO of Public Education Partners
With everything that teachers have had to endure over the past six months, we should all take time to thank them. Educators, the Greenville County Schools administration, and a wide range of individuals and organizations are working day in and day out to improve educational outcomes for Greenville’s children while also prioritizing everyone’s safety.
Gratitude is powerful. As Brené Brown’s hundreds of thousands of followers will attest, cultivating a sense of gratitude can actually rewire your brain so that you are more capable of navigating the toxic stress of our 21st Century lives. Or, more to the point, the toxic stress of 2020.
Back in March, I was invited to share my thoughts on how the pandemic was impacting public schools, especially here in Greenville County, where since 1985 Public Education Partners (PEP) has led collective efforts to improve student achievement. Gratitude was the central theme. I closed that article with three pleas: Be well. Stay safe. Thank a teacher.
Six months later, those words still apply. If anything, they are more relevant. Millions of our fellow citizens have gotten sick, hundreds of thousands have died, and the long-term health and economic repercussions remain hard to predict. Tens of thousands of Upstate public school students, teachers, and families are navigating a complex mix of learning options — none of which is perfect for everyone, and all of which require significant sacrifice and patience. Sadly, those traits seem in short supply right now.
In light of all of this, teachers have embodied the resiliency and creativity that they strive to model for their students. The much-needed summer break was consumed by online trainings, lesson plan adaptations, and building virtual teaching studios in living rooms and kitchens. Since August, classrooms have become production centers for online learning sessions, and carefully designed spaces where children can come together in-person to safely learn with their peers.
In all of this, teachers’ responsibilities have continued to grow. They respond to emails in the middle of the night, talk caregivers and students through using new technologies, and worry about the children who aren’t transitioning well. They do all of this while exposing themselves to a virus that we still don’t know everything about, trusting that their principals and administrators have their backs and are doing everything possible to keep both them and their students safe.
At PEP, we are committed to elevating the voices of teachers whenever possible. They are the experts, just as scientists are the experts when it comes to issues of Covid-19. But they are also human. They are our parents, our friends, our partners. Parishioners in our churches or neighbors down the street. Greenville County Schools alone employees 6,000 teachers — a significant workforce that is woefully and systematically underpaid, and whose voices are not listened to enough by the elected officials that continue to kick the can of education and funding reform down the road.
We know that the road to economic recovery may be long, but I hope that we will agree that the overwhelming burden cannot be carried on the backs of our public education system alone. In the wake of the Great Recession, K-12 education funding was cut by 20%. It took 12 years to return to pre-recession levels – just in time to welcome a global pandemic.
Early next year, our General Assembly will convene in Columbia for its next two-year session. It is impossible to predict where we will be by then, but it is clear that to lay the groundwork for a lasting recovery, we must prioritize investing all the resources we can muster in our teachers and public schools. South Carolina was already facing a teacher recruitment and retention crisis of unprecedented proportions, which this pandemic will undoubtedly exacerbate. We need data-centered strategies and strong leadership.
Advocates for public education must be ready to make their voices heard. You can start by learning which candidates fighting for your vote on November 3rd are true champions for public education. Critically, get to know the candidates for your local school board election. In Greenville, six of the 12 school board seats are on the ballot this year, and PEP has a School Board Questionnaire to help you learn more about the candidates. We also encourage you to sign-up for our Action Alerts, which will keep you informed on critical education issues and make action easy.
I’m so grateful for the teachers that my two boys have every year, but especially this year. So in their honor: Be well. Stay safe. Thank a teacher. And you can start with your choices at the polls.
Catherine Schumacher
President & CEO
Public Education Partners
Public Education Partners (PEP), founded in 1985, leads our community in acting collectively to support, strengthen, and advance public education and student achievement in Greenville County Schools. To that end, its work focuses on Elevating Teachers, Empowering Advocates, and Engaging Communities.
Oct 14, 2020 | News
Zeb Gantt, Community Research & Data Specialist
United Way of Greenwood & Abbeville Counties, in collaboration with local, state and national partners, is pleased to announce the successful launch of a new data platform. Greenwood Counts (www.greenwoodcounts.org) provides access to population health data, demographics, evidence-based practices, and information on vital resources and activities. The platform provides governments, health departments, hospitals, educational institutions, community-based organizations and human service providers with the resources needed to facilitate regional and community improvement activities and strengthen collaborations, both locally and regionally.
Using Greenwood Counts, individuals and organizations can view over 140 health and quality of life data indicators; map and visualize data, and generate tailored data reports; examine zip-code level maps of socio-economic needs; browse through a database of over 2,000 evidence based practices and programs; access zip code specific pages with local data, priorities, improvement activities, and resources; track progress towards county and regional goals and use tools for creating a community health needs assessment.
“Our vision for Greenwood Counts was to provide Greenwood County with a vital resource to support community improvement work in the region. We are eager to make the site scalable and replicable for other surrounding counties in the future, as this would enable the region to come together collectively to formulate shared goals. This new platform will engage diverse stakeholders, help pinpoint at-risk populations and areas of need, promote the implementation of programs proven to affect change, and provide tools to track and report on results at the zip code, county, and regional levels,” says Zeb Gantt, Community Research & Data Specialist, United Way of Greenwood & Abbeville Counties.
Having successfully launched, Greenwood Counts is now transitioning into building a community consortium. “The Greenwood Counts Community Consortium is being developed with one goal in mind, bringing representatives from across multiple sectors to advocate and advance system changes for a safer, healthier and happier community. The Consortium will drive conversations on how Greenwood plans and coordinates services and will serve as advisors for governments and community leaders,” says Marisel Losa, President & CEO, United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties.
The Consortium will address our community’s greatest needs utilizing the resources of Greenwood Counts. The platform will serve as the data backbone for decision making through its easy-to-use navigation tools for supporting community improvement work. It will enable the Consortium to understand Greenwood’s greatest needs and track the progress towards remedying those needs overtime.
For more information on Greenwood Counts and the Greenwood Counts Community Consortium, please visit: www.greenwoodcounts.org
Oct 9, 2020 | News
Kyra Lobbins, Deputy Chief of Staff, Clemson University
Welcome Terence Roberts, TATT Chairman
Guest Presentation Kyra Lobbins, Deputy Chief of Staff, Clemson University
You can watch a recording of the meeting here.
6,800 students living on campus in the third week of classes
Masks are required on campus and in the city of Clemson
COVID testing percent positive is well below the state average
Clemson tested all students initially, now just on campus
Wastewater is being used to target testing; can pinpoint down to a floor in a dormitory
350 of 629 isolation beds being used; extending to 750 beds
207 students are isolating independently
Marketing research has showed that Clemson should thrive post-pandemic
All finals will be held online
When vaccine becomes available it will be provided to students
TATT Updates Dean Hybl, TATT Executive Director
Creating Upstate Unsung Heroes Virtual Event on November 18
- Register and nominate your Unsung Hero here.
Other events coming up
- Upstate Entrepreneur Ecosystem Workshop
- Sneak Pique
- Upstate Professional Planners Workshop
- Air Quality Group
- Creating a Safer Upstate Discovery Committee Meeting
Cherokee (Frannie Stockwell, Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce)
Businesses are getting back up and running slowly with some new openings and some closings
Elementary schools are back in person five days a week
The city passed a mask ordinance for employees and customers yesterday
The Chamber is hosting an in-person job fair on October 19
New Cherokee County vision 20/37 “A Clear Vision”
Pickens (Katie Mann, Hagood Mill)
Hagood Found took over day to day operations from Pickens County last year
Many events cancelled but many things still happening including grist mill 175 year celebration, Rural LISC digital inclusion grant to rural communities for local rural communities to provide funding support for those who cannot afford computers or internet www.hagoodmillhistoricsite.com
State sanctioned fiddling competition this month and next month is Native American Heritage Month celebration
Spartanburg (Doug Stephenson, SC Works Greater Upstate
One stop operator for SC Work Centers offering support to employers
Closed five centers mid-March due to COVID, started service by phone, virtually, email, etc.
Developed PPP and safety protocol with many donations from counties and local organizations
Centers reopened to people needing unemployment compensation
Several virtual job fairs have been held over the past months with one upcoming in Spartanburg
Greenville: 2325 in-person customers, Union 692, Cherokee: 1862; Spartanburg 4844
Union (Jami Trammell, Union County Chamber of Commerce)
New businesses have started with more in the pipeline
Have cancelled several events but still planning on Christmas parade
Hosting a drive-in movie
More new chamber members than ever before
