2025 SC Education + Business Summit

Presented by Dr. Lee Green, Director of Floyd D. Johnson Technology Center and Managing Partner for K12 Marketing, and Beth Bottini, Regional Career Specialist for the Catawba Region, this session promises to provide valuable insights and practical tools for anyone involved in Career Technical Education, aiming to foster a stronger connection between educational programs and regional workforce needs.

This topic is relevant to all CTE clusters because all CTE students should have the opportunity to showcase what they have learned as a CTE completer in a presentation to industry experts. Participants can see how this expectation for students sets students up for success in the workforce. The presenter is a principal of a CTE program school - 9 years as an administrator.

Workshop will ensure school leadership are knowledgeable on monitoring guidelines for State, Federal and WBL funds.

Relevance of the topic to the CTE field?
• The presentation offers solutions to CTE classroom teachers. Our company provides supplemental curricula and activities that align with CTE state standards.
Value to participants?
• Participants leave with the ability to leverage a local small business in teaching their students real-world applications.
Presenter knowledge and experience?
• Presenter is/are
o a certified teacher with the State of South Carolina.
o Current adjunct instructor of “Restaurant, Apparel, and Entrepreneurship” in the college of Agriculture, Family, and Consumer Sciences at South Carolina State University.
o Owner, and CEO of The Food Academy. The company offers restaurant/café service, catering, cooking classes, meal prep, food safety certification, and nutrition workshops.
o Experienced event planners, as The Food Academy has hosted several successful public and private events.
o Over 25 years of restaurant and hospitality experience.

Relevance of the topic to the CTE field?
Career Readiness Factor is important for all students. Often times- students with disabilities enrolled in the Employability Credential program are unsure of their options.
Many technical colleges and universities across SC offer certificate based programs/industry specific certifications for students with disabilities, specifically students enrolled in Employability Credential programs.

Value to participants?
This resource is the first app/web resource that specifically targets the programmatic differences in the programs across the state - and the options for students with disabilities and/or enrolled in credential program

Presenter knowledge and experience?
Transition Alliance of South Carolina (TASC) works with SC TEAMS and three other Technical Service Providers to support the entire educational journey of students with disabilities as well as their life after school. Alongside Transition Alliance, the other providers emphasize academic and behavioral support from preschool through high school.

This presentation provides a hands-on, use these free tools immediately to create the ideal settings for young people to build their skills both in and out of the academic setting. The fast paced training is specifically designed for CTE practitioners to learn, observe, and implement each of these strategies, techniques, and resources to develop programs that are based on effective youth engagement. When young people are able to find safety (physical, emotional, cultural) in their environment, they are more likely to not only sustain their attendance/involvement, and in turn, increase their CTE skillsets. We have presented this workshop and others to over 30,000 conference participants at over 400+ national, statewide, and regional conferences throughout the country, including keynoting at the EBS Summit in previous years, NC Workforce Training Conference (10+ years), Southeast Training Association (10+ years), NCETA (10+ years), Northeast Workforce (5+ years), etc.

AI is rapidly growing and affecting everyone. It is important that our students learn to use it appropriately and safely. AI Ready Skills is student led curriculum that teaches students how to use AI correctly. The presenter is a former CTE teacher, trainer, and was on the team that developed the curriculum.

The mission of Career and Technical Education (CTE) is to empower all students to be successful citizens, workers, and leaders in a global economy. Even if our students don't go straight into entrepreneurship, an entrepreneur's perspective will make them more valued employees and citizens.

After nine years in the Marines, I attended Harvard Business School and learned a few secrets.

One secret is the path to financial independence. I've walked it. Let's offer this perspective to our students.

Topic Relevance: Since COVID, chronic absenteeism in public schools has doubled, rising from 15% in 2019 to 30% (~15 million students) in 2024. Absences lower GPAs, increase dropout risks, and enhance the likelihood of negative post-graduation outcomes such as unemployment, substance abuse, and legal issues. Teachers also face added strain, adjusting curricula to accommodate absent students, disrupting lesson flow. This crisis is particularly severe in economically disadvantaged communities.

Participant Value: Federal attendance programs have been developed and proven to consistently improve student attendance, but require significant resources, limiting accessibility for many schools. Schools attempting independent programs often find them costly, complex, and ineffective due to delayed or inconsistent rewards. This session will highlight a proven, research-backed attendance reward system that is:

• 100% free for schools, students, parents, and teachers
• Seamlessly integrated into existing attendance procedures
• Designed to engage parents in fostering strong attendance habits

By implementing this system, schools can improve attendance, boost student morale and performance, and potentially increase funding opportunities.

Presenter Knowledge & Experience: Having witnessed the long-term consequences of absenteeism among family, friends, and students, I pursued solutions while earning my Ph.D. in Psychology. Over the past five years, my team has developed and refined a data-driven attendance improvement system, collaborating with over 120 administrators, 60 teachers, 500 students, and 75 parents to help design and refine the platform. This extensive engagement ensures our approach is effective, scalable, and ready for implementation in diverse educational settings.

Work-based learning is within legislation of Perkins, EEDA Act of 2005, SC State Unified Plan, and is a career ready qualifier of the state's accountability system for report card ratings. Last, it is one of the objectives for the state through the SC Department of Education's Strategic plan.

The relevance of stackable, industry-recognized credentials is tremendous to the CTE field, as degrees alone are no longer enough to prepare students for today’s workforce. With 92% of U.S. jobs requiring mastery of digital skills—including Adobe Suite, Microsoft Office, Google Docs, cybersecurity, web development, and coding—it’s essential to equip students with tools that ensure their success and give them a competitive edge. Alarmingly, over one-third of college graduates enter the job market without these critical competencies.

The value to participants is great, as they will explore how stackable, industry-recognized, and proficiency-based certifications can bridge this critical skills gap.
Participants will learn actionable strategies to empower learners to validate and demonstrate their expertise in essential digital competencies, setting them up for success in higher education and their careers.

The presenter, Melissa Murphy, regional sales manager at Tosa by Isograd, taught elementary school for many years before moving into the educational technology space for K-12 schools, as well as higher education institutions. Her passion has always been in education, in providing teachers and students with the skills to be successful.

This topic is highly relevant to the CTE field as it focuses on transforming essential yet mundane material into engaging and memorable learning experiences. The goal is to help students truly understand the content rather than simply memorize it. This session aims to inspire participants to build strong foundational relationships with their students while incorporating fresh, interactive activities into their classrooms. Our presenters bring valuable expertise: a registered nurse with 17 years of experience, including four years in the classroom, and an athletic trainer with 16 years of experience, all of which involve teaching. Additionally, our athletic trainer was recognized as the district teacher of the year in 2017.

Relevance to CTE: Describes the connection between skills development and wages, and the importance of training.

Value to Participants: Provides (and demos) a ready-made lesson plan and activity for a group of students.

Presenter: Has 30+ years in economics and business education and works for the Federal Reserve, the owner of the website and the maker of the resources.

Relevance to CTE: The topic discusses resources useful for teaching economics, business, finance, and entrepreneurship courses

Value to Participants: Shows the new website that offers hundreds of free resources. Teaches participants how to access resources and provides examples.

Presenter: Has 30+ years in economics and business education and works for the Federal Reserve, the owner of the website and the maker of the resources.

Priority Occupations are a resource that helps guide the development of new education or training programs and the continuous improvement of current programs. The interactive format allows students, parents and educators to craft personalized lists for potential career pathways or occupations of need in their area.

Growing Our Own: Moving the Educurious to Educator is directly related to the CTE Education and Training pathway. Other teachers, administrators, and career center directors will find value in learning from Saluda County's successful development in a rural community. Heather Harmon, the presenter, has been a key component to the growth and success of this program through recruitment and instruction for the courses offered to achieve completion status.

By the end of this session, participants will be equipped with innovative technology-based strategies that can transform their classrooms into dynamic learning environments. The insights gained will empower educators to harness digital tools effectively, ensuring that students remain engaged and motivated in their learning journey.

Allowing students the opportunity to take classes that will bring them into the education field is valuable. Ed Rising can be taught in a CTE setting as an Education 101 or 102 class or can be an academic club that provides information for those interested in pursuing education. Presenter knowledge is 2 years with Ed Rising and 37 years teaching experience.