Strategic Spartanburg

The following Best Practice Strategies were provided by the Clemson Univeristy's Regional Economic Development Research Laboratory in the Department of Applied Economics and Statistics.

1.  Provide college preparation progress. The pre-college programs should be comprehensive (focus on readiness and the whole child), and the programs should start early in the child’s education (no later than 7th grade). Examples of pre-college programs include:

• College preparation courses
• Test preparation workshops
• Summer enrichment programs
• College visits
• Mentoring and tutoring programs
• Study skills development
• Speaking and writing skills development
• Aid in completing financial aid forms
• Individual and group counseling, including motivational counseling
• Integrate student’s cultural beliefs and norms into programs

2. Form relationships and networks between students and individuals who can make the students aware of opportunities for and benefits of a college education (e.g., college faculty, local corporate and business leaders, local professionals)

3. Encourage collaboration between public schools and area colleges and universities to improve college prep education and transition to college. Examples of collaborative activities include:

• College-level study, often situated on college campuses, for the disadvantaged but gifted high school student.
• Academic counseling on pre-college courses.
• Tutoring, mentoring, and skills building, provided by college faculty, staff and students.
• Campus tours and contact with college students
• Summer remedial or college programs, on campus
• Parent involvement programs to encourage support for student’s college aspirations at home.
• Teacher development to prepare teachers to teach new subjects or to improve their abilities in those previously studied, to raise their morale, and to heighten their expectations for disadvantaged students.
• Curriculum improvement, through creation of a community of practice-sensitive researchers and practice-sensitive teachers.


4. Programs to encourage/facilitate graduation from community colleges (complete associate degrees) for minority and disadvantaged students include the following (Bryant, 2001):

• The community colleges should provide initial/continuing technical training for educationally and economically disadvantaged students such that the students receive the training necessary to improve their income and job status.
• Community colleges should be offered incentives to serve the poor and other underrepresented groups.
• Partnerships between employers and community colleges and between community colleges and service agencies or other community-based organizations should be created to serve students in need of greater social and economic mobility.
• Classroom training should involve both academic and applied learning in order to connect education with the workplace.
• Disadvantaged students need to receive career guidance and mentoring. They also should¬ be provided with the opportunity to volunteer, as the experience of helping another person can be satisfying and empowering.

5. Enhance college and university resources allocated to student retention programs. Information on retention programs and resources available to educational institutions is available at the Center for Study of College Student Retention www.cscsr.org.

6. Focus public programs on family policy and early childhood education to provide the intellectual capital base necessary to succeed in all stages of education.

7. Provide mandatory remediation (developmental education) in the community colleges to ensure that students are prepared for the postsecondary education experience.