South Carolina Makes Education Relevant

What is EEDA?

By Karen Bair
©Copyright 2006
Republished by permission of The Herald, Rock Hill, S.C.

EEDA -- the Education and Economic Development Act -- became law in South Carolina in 2005. Its goals include making education more relevant to students by sparking interest in careers at an earlier age, decreasing dropout rates and providing a seamless transition from elementary to middle to high school to college and/or the work force.

Counselors open the door in kindergarten through fifth grade by providing experiences that allow children to investigate all kinds of career possibilities.

In the sixth grade, students take a career interest inventory through self-exploration and exposure to career opportunities. They survey which middle and high school courses are relevant to that career and how much education is involved. In the seventh grade, they continue that and become more actively involved through shadowing and similar opportunities.

In eighth grade, students choose from four major high school areas of study: math, science, engineering and industrial technologies; business management and information systems; health and human services; and arts and humanities. The choice is made in conjunction with the middle school career specialist, guidance counselor, parents and student.

This year's eighth-graders will be the first to select an Individual Graduation Plan, or IGP. They have an IGP meeting every year after that as they continue to explore careers of interest, and the plan allows opportunities for them to change their minds.

Each school of study has "career cluster" classes aligned with specific careers. For example, under the school of Arts and Humanities, a student could select from the following clusters: digital and graphic design; teaching and training; English performing arts; and others.

A student must have a minimum of four courses linked to a cluster. By 10th grade, they must declare their major. With all of the electives open to students, it is possible for students to graduate with more than one career major as they continue to investigate what they like.

The law includes school partnerships with businesses whose representatives recommend appropriate classes for particular careers and are sought for job-shadowing and internship opportunities.

Future plans include offering "dual credit" classes in cooperation with local colleges and universities. Under the plan, high school students could take college classes on college campuses and receive both high school and college credit for them.