From Textiles to Tech: How Rural South Carolina Trains Students for New Industry

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From Textiles to Tech: How Rural South Carolina Trains Students for New Industry

Anderson County school districts and local industry are collaborating to educate and train its next generation workforce for an evolving economy.

By Jim Fields & Emmeline Zhao

June 28, 2023

Anderson County sits in South Carolina鈥檚 Upstate, bordering Georgia to the west and just a stone鈥檚 throw from North Carolina鈥檚 Appalachian Mountains to the north. For more than 100 years, textiles were king in Anderson County, dominating the economy from just after Reconstruction through the end of the 20th century.

But as textiles manufacturers started moving their operations overseas in the 1990s, Anderson County leaders quickly moved to maintain jobs by attracting other industries. Now, everything from surgical appliances to automotive parts are devised in Anderson 鈥� by companies like Arthrex, Bosch and Michelin.

Anderson Institute of Technology opened in 2019 as a collaboration between three of five Anderson County, S.C. school districts and local industry. It provides cutting-edge career and technical education to students from four high schools across Anderson Districts 3, 4 and 5, in hopes that those students will get real-world experience early on in their educational careers to be prepared for jobs in Anderson County industries 鈥� if that鈥檚 the route they choose.

The $34 million, 120,000-square-foot facility was funded by a voter-approved penny sales tax increase in 2014. Now, students who partake in AIT programs split their days between their home high schools and AIT, and earn credit towards graduation. Student learning at AIT is two-fold: half of their 鈥渃lassrooms鈥� look traditional, and are set with tables and chairs, where the students learn core concepts that apply to their hands-on work. The other half is a 鈥渓ab鈥� that mimics a real-world work environment 鈥� like an automotive garage, aerospace engineering lab or surgery room.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all about giving kids a purpose in life,鈥� said Don Herriott, a local business owner. 鈥淭hat education isn鈥檛 just about progressing to the next grade. It鈥檚 about preparing for your life and your future.鈥�

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Jim Fields is a video director at The 74.

james@the74million.org

Emmeline Zhao is projects & multimedia director at The 74.

emmeline@the74million.org

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                <h2>From Textiles to Tech: How Rural South Carolina Trains Students for New Industry</h2>

                <h2>Anderson County school districts and local industry are collaborating to educate and train its next generation workforce for an evolving economy.</h2>

                <p class="sans">By <a rel="author" href="/contributor/jim-fields-2/">Jim Fields</a> & <a rel="author" href="/contributor/emmeline-zhao/">Emmeline Zhao</a></p>

                <img src="/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/innovative-hs-anderson-institute.jpg">

                <p>This story first appeared at <a href="/">The 74</a>, a nonprofit news site covering education. <a href="/about/newsletters/?utm_source=republish-button&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=republish">Sign up for free newsletters from The 74</a> to get more like this in your inbox.</p>
                
<p>Anderson County sits in South Carolina鈥檚 Upstate, bordering Georgia to the west and just a stone鈥檚 throw from North Carolina鈥檚 Appalachian Mountains to the north. For more than 100 years, textiles were king in Anderson County, dominating the economy from just after Reconstruction through the end of the 20th century.</p>



<p>But as textiles manufacturers started moving their operations overseas in the 1990s, Anderson County leaders quickly moved to maintain jobs by attracting other industries. Now, everything from surgical appliances to automotive parts are devised in Anderson 鈥� by companies like Arthrex, Bosch and Michelin.</p>


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<h2 class="has-text-color" style="color:#0c72d8; font-family:video-cond">INNOVATIVE HIGH SCHOOLS</h2>
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<h3>Road trip! Join us as we visit 13 cutting-edge campuses in 13 weeks</h3>
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<div class="wp-block-button is-style-fill"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button" href="/americas-innovative-high-schools/" style="background-color:#0c72d8">See the schools</a></div>
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<p>Anderson Institute of Technology opened in 2019 as a collaboration between three of five Anderson County, S.C. school districts and local industry. It provides cutting-edge career and technical education to students from four high schools across Anderson Districts 3, 4 and 5, in hopes that those students will get real-world experience early on in their educational careers to be prepared for jobs in Anderson County industries 鈥� if that鈥檚 the route they choose.</p>



<p>The $34 million, 120,000-square-foot facility was funded by a voter-approved penny sales tax increase in 2014. Now, students who partake in AIT programs split their days between their home high schools and AIT, and earn credit towards graduation. Student learning at AIT is two-fold: half of their 鈥渃lassrooms鈥� look traditional, and are set with tables and chairs, where the students learn core concepts that apply to their hands-on work. The other half is a 鈥渓ab鈥� that mimics a real-world work environment 鈥� like an automotive garage, aerospace engineering lab or surgery room.</p>



<p>鈥淚t鈥檚 all about giving kids a purpose in life,鈥� said Don Herriott, a local business owner. 鈥淭hat education isn鈥檛 just about progressing to the next grade. It鈥檚 about preparing for your life and your future.鈥�</p>

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From Textiles to Tech: How Rural South Carolina Trains Students for New Industry

Anderson County school districts and local industry are collaborating to educate and train its next generation workforce for an evolving economy.

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