McCormick County School District

Melissa Billey, Project Manager – melissa.a.billey@gmail.com

March 2, 2018

MCCORMICK — McCormick County School District Superintendent, Don D. Doggett, met with Renee Robinson, Regional Career Specialist-Western Piedmont Education Consortium; Matt Wiggins, Upper Savannah Regional Workforce Advisor-South Carolina Dept. of Commerce; and Wilder Ferreira, Clemson Extension, on February 27, 2018, at 1:30PM, to work on a plan to assist students in furthering their education in the Information Technology world. 

A plan was made for an Information Technology Leadership Academy to educate students on not only their technical skills in the Information Technology (IT) careers, but also assist them in their soft skills and communication skills.  This certificate program will allow students to join the IT workforce after high school, but more importantly it will open a door for these students to want to further their education after high school at a two-year or four-year institution. 

During the meeting, you could feel the excitement as talks progressed about what to include in the certificate program.  McCormick County School District has a desire to create programs to help make students more marketable, whether that student’s path is a career or college after high school.  To quote Mr. Doggett, “Whatever we need to do, I am all in.”  These individuals have a deep eagerness and enthusiasm for the students moving through high school.  They realize the strengths these students have, and what they can bring to the community after graduation with the right programs in place.  They want to help these students realize their potential and help them to attain these goals.