On The Move
New Carolina’s Education and Workforce Task Force Endorses ReadyNation Pledge
Oct 25, 2012
COLUMBIA, SC - October 25, 2012 - On Thursday, October 18th, the Education and Workforce Development Task Force of New Carolina, South Carolina’s Council of Competitiveness endorsed and signed the ReadyNation Pledge, signaling their belief in the importance of quality early childhood development programs to building a competitive workforce and a prosperous economy for South Carolina in the years to come. This task force is chaired by Don Herriott, former CEO of Roche Carolina in Florence and Director of Innovista Partnerships at the University of South Carolina, and Jim Reynolds, CEO of Total Comfort Solutions in West Columbia.
Herriott said “By signing the ReadyNation Pledge this group of business leaders from across South Carolina is sending a strong message about the critical importance of investment in the first five years of life to building a competitive workforce and a prosperous economy for South Carolina. We know that the best way to prepare kids for school, for the workforce, and for society is by investing in them early. Early childhood investment deserves the attention and concern of South Carolina’s business leaders and policy makers.”
Sara Watson, Director of ReadyNation, a national business partnership for early childhood and economic success and a project of America’s Promise Alliance, welcomed the Task Force’s endorsement of the pledge: “we are thrilled by the exciting movement in South Carolina to support stronger investments in young children. Business leaders, such as those involved in New Carolina, are leading the nation in taking a stand-based on sound research- for a smarter approach to workforce development and economic competitiveness that begins by investing at the beginning of our workforce pipeline.”
The ReadyNation Pledge says:
We are committed to ensuring all of our nation's children show up for school ready to succeed.
We understand that long-term U.S. economic strength and fiscal sustainability depend on the capabilities of America's workforce.
We agree that our country's workforce pipeline is not producing the employees we need, which can only truly be remedied by starting at the beginning.
We know from extensive research that kids who start off right are more likely to be ready to succeed in school, become part of a highly-skilled workforce, and become productive members of society. Families and communities matter in how children start off in life, and effective public and private investments in young children and their families are a vital educational success and economic growth strategy.
The Institute for Child Success partners with New Carolina and coordinates business advocacy on behalf of early childhood in South Carolina. To find out more about efforts in South Carolina please visit www.kidsdriveourfuture.com or contact Joe Waters, Associate Director at 864.350.2894.
For more information about ReadyNation or America’s Promise Alliance please visit www.readynation.org or www.americaspromise.org. For more on New Carolina please visit www.newcarolina.org.
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