Schools prepare for Boeing arrival | News | Berkeley Independent

Printer friendly version |

E-mail to a friend |

Schools prepare for Boeing arrival

Published Tuesday, December 15, 2009 8:59 AM

By Stefan Rogenmoser
Berkeley Independent

photo by Stefan Rogenmoser

Berkeley Schools Superintendent Anthony Parker sits next to Trident Technical College President Mary Thornley at the Berkeley County School District Teacher of the Year Breakfast in April.

Boeing’s assembly site for the 787 Dreamliner jet in North Charleston will have “nothing but benefits” for area schools and students, Berkeley County School District Superintendent Anthony Parker said in a recent interview.

Boeing broke ground Nov. 20 and production of the jet is set to begin in 2011 at the site near the Charleston International Airport.

“The potential is tremendous with a quality organization such as Boeing,” Parker said. “I’m really excited . . . I see nothing but benefits from it.”

The district is adding a middle college at Trident Technical College’s Berkeley Campus near Moncks Corner and is working closely with the technical college, Parker said.

At the district’s Jan. 27 school board meeting the board approved a grant application for the middle college. If everything goes according to schedule, 100 Berkeley County high school juniors and seniors should be taking college courses at Trident’s Berkeley Campus by the 2010-2011 school year.

“That’s going to be one of the beginning stages in that partnership so that we can expose our students and the public as a whole to the campus at Berkeley,” Parker said.

“What we’re looking at is what we can start specifically that’s going to place our students into a position where they can proceed into a program at Trident Tech. Even while they’re in school they’d pursue a program that would put them in a position where they could get a job at Boeing.

“We’re all looking at how we’re going be able to make that happen.”

Parker said there are “higher-ed” partnerships that go beyond just the public schools. Parker is also looking to work with Charleston Southern University, The Citadel, The College of Charleston and even Clemson and the University of South Carolina.

“This is going to be an interesting thing for South Carolina,” he said. “I think it certainly will bring more people to the area. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing for the young people to stay here and go to college and work right here with a quality career opportunities that you’d want them to have, and they don’t have to leave here to go find it?”

Parker said there’s still a lot of guessing going on in the community as to how exactly schools and the community will be affected.

“We’re all talking about it right now,” he said. “I think it’s going to take some time in the form of some planning opportunities. I don’t think it’s going to happen overnight, where Boeing is going to have an immediate presence here. They’ve still got to build the plant and get everything ready to go.

“The plus is, it’s a definite – it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time. It’s going to afford us the time to prepare for it.

“The entire area is going to have a great future if we all work together, if we all focus on the same page as far as the quality of what we want to have.”

Comments

Notice about comments:

Berkeleyind.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Berkeleyind.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Berkeleyind.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

Full terms and conditions can be read here.

Most Viewed
Most Commented

104 East Doty Avenue | Summerville, SC 29483 | 843-572-0511 office