The Economic Benefit of Paid Leave for the Lowcountry

Federal law has, since 1993, required businesses with 50 or more employees to provide unpaid family and medical leave. That leaves 40% of workers ineligible, and of the rest, nearly half report they cannot afford the time away. Unpaid family leave is equivalent to little or no leave for many single mothers and women in low-income jobs.

Diversifying the Digital Marketplace

Many of the best jobs in America, and here in the Charleston region – the most secure, most in-demand, and highest paying – are in the tech field. Generally, they require education heavy in science, technology, engineering, and/or math – STEM.

Hard Hats with Heart Is A Workforce Development Booster

In 2019, the American Heart Association (AHA) began teaming up with the construction industry to improve the heart health and overall fitness of industry employees.

The Job Market of the Future

The implications for the workforce in the Lowcountry could be significant, particularly in light of efforts to diversify the job market here.

Need for Diaper Banks Spikes During Covid

Even prior to COVID, one in three families with young children was reported to be struggling to afford diapers. Diapers are not covered by federal subsidies like Food Stamps (SNAP) and WIC, but their cost can cause an economic hardship for low-income families.

Women’s Business Center to Promote Women Entrepreneurs

Written by: Barry Waldman Women comprise 51% of the U.S. population and own 39% of its businesses. Yet women-owned businesses account for merely 4% of the revenue generated nationally. Minority women-owned businesses generate a fraction of one percent of revenue. Women and minorities lack the business grooming, mentorship, and access to capital that help men…

Begin with Books Spreading Literacy to All Children

Begin With Books promotes early childhood literacy one book at a time from birth through age five. The Charleston-based organization affiliated with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library delivers one free book each month to preschoolers in low-income neighborhoods in the Lowcountry.

The Impact of Agribusiness on South Carolina

The Lowcountry Graduate Center recognizes that a healthy agricultural community is paramount to a Lowcountry economy dependent on its culinary industry.

Principal Service Program Helps Educational Leaders Raise Their Game

Sayer says meeting with other educational professionals is a significant benefit. Classes of 15-20 have allowed her to establish relationships with educators from around the area, trade best practices, and share common frustrations. The Lowcountry Graduate Center, located on the campus of Trident Technical College, has served as a central meeting point for educators spread from Mt. Pleasant to Ridgeville.

We All Need Each Other to Get Vaccinated

In order to reach herd immunity, 70% of the population must become immune. Contracting Covid has proven to convey only short-term immunity, meaning that the vaccine is the only route. With children comprising 27% of the state population, nearly every adult will have to get vaccinated in order to protect everyone. A recent poll found that about a third of Americans do not plan to get vaccinated.

Is Teach for America a Solution for the Teacher Shortage?

It has been well-documented in this space and elsewhere the scale of the present and looming teacher shortage hamstringing South Carolina’s public schools.

The Persistent Affordable Housing Problem Grows Despite Concerted Efforts

The lack of affordable housing is a nationwide issue that restrains economic growth by shackling disposable income for families with modest incomes and preventing them from living near the available jobs. The problem is particularly acute in the Charleston area, where housing prices are booming, inventory is tight, and hospitality and tourism are a bedrock of the local economy.

K-12 Teacher Fast Track Program

What happens when you take an accelerating teacher shortage fed by educator defections and sagging enrollments in education programs, plus the added fuel of a global pandemic?

A Concerted Effort to Reduce Diabetes in the Lowcountry

As we have documented previously, diabetes is a rampant and preventable scourge in South Carolina, affecting the daily lives of half a million adults and dramatically increasing their mortality risk. Recent research suggests that type II diabetes – i.e., diabetes with adult onset – is significantly less associated with genetics than with lifestyle.

Adding to Successful Efforts to Reduce Diabetes in the Lowcountry

Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in South Carolina, a top 10 state for the disease with more than half a million adult sufferers. Diabetes increases the risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, and even death. And it is largely preventable.

Mental Health in a COVID World

The most wonderful time of the year? Not for everyone and certainly not for a lot of people this past year’s holiday season. Even in ordinary years, the Christmas-New Year holiday season adds stressors to the lives of American adults, one in four of whom struggle with a diagnosable mental health disorder, according to the…

Now More Than Ever, You Need a Flu Vaccine

This year, with the coronavirus racing across our continent, it is doubly important to get your flu shot as soon as possible. It is painless and inexpensive; in fact, many employers and other organizations provide them for free.

High Anxiety Among Young Adults

Lauren Rhoads is a high-performing business student at the College of Charleston, the kind who color-codes her to-do list and does the lion’s share of the work in group assignments. This senior business major was cruising through her college career with internships lined up and jobs awaiting until Covid hit.

The Library Is Your Resource at Trident Tech

Unlike its former location, the Lowcountry Graduate Center now resides on a campus with a full-fledged library. The main library on the Thornley Campus – i.e., the main campus off Rivers Ave. in North Charleston – is now open and available for use to all graduate center students and faculty. The library is located in building 510 directly across campus, southeast from Relish, the restaurant in the 920 building that houses the LGC.

Charleston’s Healthy Business Challenge Makes Us All Feel Better

These kinds of stories are legion at companies that have joined the Charleston Healthy Business Challenge, a collaborative program of MUSC, and the City of Charleston, sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and offered for free to businesses throughout the Lowcountry.

A Primer on Hispanic, Latino and Latinx for Hispanic Heritage Month

You may have noticed the recent entry into our language of the word Latinx.

Talent 2020 & Beyond

“The driving question isn’t, ‘When will the jobs come back?’ But rather, ‘Where will the jobs be and what skills will they require?’”

How To: Prepare for Hurricanes

We can’t prepare for unpredictable events like fires and earthquakes, but we are commonly told every June to get ready for hurricanes…..and to remain prepared until the season ends November 1st.

Availability of LGC Funds and How to Access Them

The grant process reflects the LGC’s commitment to growing workforce talent for economic development in the Lowcountry. According to the Talent 2020 and Beyond report produced by the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the talent gap is most acute in the areas listed above and is hampering growth in these industries.

Enjoying the Benefits of Technology at Trident Tech

As you might imagine, moving an entire graduate center across town for geographic centralization is a mammoth undertaking under any circumstances. In the midst of a pandemic that is revolutionizing the way educational services are delivered, it was a prescription for chaos.

The Effort to Address Health Disparities in the Lowcountry

Healthy Tri-county has conducted several community health audits and found that disparities tear at the fabric of health within the Lowcountry.

SC Census Count Lagging, Putting Billions of Dollars at Risk

With the sixth-worst response rate in the nation, South Carolina is endangering some of the billions of dollars it receives in federal payouts dependent on once-in-a-decade Census counts.

Expanding Access to Lower Maternal Morbidity

The Tri-County Health Improvement Plan emerged. Maternal, infant and child health is one of five areas of priority.

LGC News: BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!

Lowering Maternal Mortality

Reducing Racial Disparities in Maternal Health South Carolina has the eighth highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, fueled by the death rate among African-American women. In South Carolina, black women with Ph.D.s have worse health outcomes in pregnancy than white high school dropouts. Overall, black women are three times as likely to die in…

Keep Your K-12 Children Engaged While Quarantined

If there’s one thing we’ve learned during this extraordinary and unprecedented time of virus-hiding it is that children don’t learn as well electronically, or for as long, as they do at school.

A Coordinated Plan to Reignite the Lowcountry Economy

Like all regional economies around the nation, the Charleston metro’s robust economy has skidded nearly to a halt. As one example, pending home sales dropped 11% in April, and listings fell 26% compared to the year before, following a torrid start to the year.

Assist Scholarships for Teachers

$500 AAUW Scholarships Available for K-8 STEAM Teachers Attention K-8 STEAM teachers: what would you do with $500? Would you pay for supplies, take a course, purchase a piece of equipment for the classroom or treat your class to a pizza party? The American Association for University Women (AAUW) is offering a pair of grants…

Keep Your Toddlers Engaged While Quarantined

And so, we are cooped up in our homes, many of us with young children who must be kept engaged in activities lest their brains shrivel and our nerves fray. The good news is, we have never been better positioned to conduct our lives from our living rooms. We are connected to the entire world via electronic devices, and that world is intent on providing us with all the information and entertainment we could possibly want.

Get Teacher Certified Quickly! There’s A Shortage to Fill!!!

There’s never been a better time to become a teacher. If you have a bachelor’s degree, even in some subjects unrelated to pedagogy, you can create a career for yourself in education faster and easier than ever before.

Census 2020: Billions of Dollars At-Risk for Lowcountry

Funding for everything that flows from the federal government down to states and local communities is based on census numbers. If the federal government only counts half of all South Carolinians, it will apportion funding based on half our actual population.

The Challenges Facing HBCUs

What do you do when competitors break into your space and deliver even better service to your most valuable customers? If your company wants to survive, you improve the service to customers and make it available on every platform on which they might consume it. You track your results and double down on those strategies…

COVID-19 May Spark Uptick in Child Abuse

Domestic violence and child abuse are expected to spike during the COVID-19 crisis as families are confined together under the stress of diminished income and complex new routines. Adding to the problem is the difficulty facing women and children who want to escape the abuse but are sequestered in their homes. Research has demonstrated a…

LGC Services Remain in Full Gear Despite Closure

Like almost everything else in the Charleston area, the physical offices of the Lowcountry Graduate Center are closed through May 15 to protect students, faculty, staff, and guests from Covid-19.

Lowcountry Social Work Connections Spring Conference

The University of South Carolina College of Social Work is organizing the Lowcountry Social Work Connections Spring Conference, which is “to provide networking opportunities, offer an affordable way to earn high-quality social work CEUs, and spotlight alumni of the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina,”…