The Palmetto Education Summit 2026

How can schools, colleges, and businesses work together to inspire students and meet the evolving needs of our local workforce? In this session, we will explore how Lexington One has partnered with a local community college and area businesses to design career pathways that align with labor market demands. Participants will learn strategies for building sustainable partnerships, creating relevant programs of study, and opening doors for students to move confidently from high school to college and career. Join us to discover how collaboration can spark inspiration, strengthen communities, and empower the next generation of talent.

What if we started preparing students for their careers the same way we prepare them for sports — by teaching the rules, practicing the skills, and building confidence early? SC Career Kids is helping schools build a strong workforce foundation by introducing career awareness in elementary school through hands on exploration, purposeful play, and meaningful conversations with community helpers and industry professionals. From statewide Safety Town programs serving PreK through 2nd grade to expanding after school Career Clubs across multiple districts, students are introduced to career pathways, essential life skills, and workplace readiness habits in developmentally appropriate ways. This session explores how early career exposure strengthens academic engagement, builds student confidence, and supports long term educational success. Participants will learn how intentional community partnerships, interactive programming, and aligned instructional strategies can integrate career awareness within existing school structures. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how early career exposure can be thoughtfully integrated within their schools and districts, and how SC Career Kids can serve as a trusted partner and resource in helping bring these experiences to life. We would never wait until high school to teach a child how to read or to compete in athletics. Career awareness should be no different. The earlier students understand the possibilities ahead of them, the stronger their educational journey becomes. The future is not waiting. It is time to get students in the game.

From Insight to Impact: Transforming CTE with Career-Connected Learning What happens when student aptitude data meets authentic career-connected learning? This session offers both big-picture strategy and practical implementation steps for districts seeking to strengthen and grow any program or pathway. Learn how the Biomedical Science Program at Aiken County Career & Technology Center transformed recruitment, instruction, and student outcomes through a strategic career-connected learning approach. Faced with enrollment challenges, the program implemented a data-driven recruitment strategy using YouScience to identify students with demonstrated aptitudes and interests in health science. The result: a 73.3% increase in applications following a targeted Health Science recruitment night. Beyond recruitment, the program integrated the BIOCAP model, empowering students to manage a student-based service enterprise, earn advanced life science certifications, and complete meaningful work-based learning experiences. Presenters will share how aptitude data informed instructional adjustments—such as differentiating approaches to solution calculations based on numerical strengths—leading to improved technical skill development and certification readiness. Attendees will leave with a replicable framework that combines: Strategic, data-informed recruitment School-based enterprise implementation (BIOCAP model)Instruction aligned to student aptitudes Career-connected learning experiences that build real workforce readiness

This session will introduce you to your Regional Career Specialist team and the services they offer. Your Regional Career Specialist team is your direct connection to the South Carolina Department of Education, Office of Career Readiness.

This interactive session provides a comprehensive dive into state-level work-based learning implementation guidelines, strategies, and reporting accurate data in PowerSchool. It is designed to assist administrators, educators, school counselors and career guidance personnel with tools to align work-based learning programs with high-quality worksite experiences to strengthen student career readiness.

South Carolina’s vision is clear: Every student graduates college-ready, career-ready, or military-ready. The Palmetto Education Summit’s focus on Career Readiness and CARE (Character, Resiliency, and Student Wellness) presents a powerful opportunity — not to launch another initiative, but to strengthen and scale what is already working across our state. For more than three years, iLead — a values-based K–12 leadership curriculum — has supported South Carolina schools in developing character, resiliency, and workforce-ready competencies through peer-to-peer facilitation and educator-guided reflection. South Carolina Impact to Date:225 schools implemented85 schools currently engaged Nearly 320,000 students served Almost 10,000 educators trained This interactive session (offered as a 1-hour breakout or expanded 2-hour working session) equips district and school teams with a unified CARE + Career Readiness framework aligned to SC Department of Education priorities, SC Ready indicators, and Lt. Governor Pamela Evette’s Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders Employment Initiative. Participants will leave with a practical blueprint that integrates student wellness, leadership development, and workforce readiness — without increasing assessment burden or instructional overload. Core Components Unified CARE + Career Readiness Framework for Post-Event Planning (Middle & High School)Developmentally sequenced progression from identity formation to applied workforce skills Leadership-infused instructional strategies strengthening resiliency and employability Advisory, CTE, mentoring, and afterschool integration model sample sides for Community and business partnership activation aligned to youth employment initiatives Implementation strategies that leverage existing structures and data Strategic Alignment South Carolina Department of Education This session supports SCDE’s commitment to: Preparing students to graduate college-, career-, or military-ready Promoting character, resiliency, and student wellness Strengthening educator capacity Driving measurable outcomes without increasing testing requirements SC Ready Research affirms that belonging, self-efficacy, and engagement drive academic achievement. iLead strengthens SC Ready outcomes by increasing student voice, goal-setting habits, collaboration, literacy-rich discussion, and applied problem-solving — all within existing instructional blocks. Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders Employment Initiative Lead strengthens South Carolina’s workforce pipeline by: Building employability skills before job placement Increasing career exploration and pathway awareness Developing professionalism, communication, and leadership Preparing students for internships, apprenticeships, and youth employment Workforce readiness begins with character and identity. iLead builds both. Key Benefits For Students Increased resiliency and confidence Stronger leadership identity Clearer career direction Workforce-ready durable skills For Educators Turnkey lesson structures Elevate Impact virtual PD support No additional assessments Increased engagement and classroom culture For District Leaders Proven statewide impact Scalable framework Alignment to state priorities Measurable outcomes using existing data systems

South Carolina has attracted several automobile manufacturers that are placing emphasis on the Hybrid/Battery Electric Vehicle. These industries are investing billions of dollars in building an infrastructure that will have an everlasting impact on our economy. Their hope is that the educational system in South Carolina can provide a highly skilled workforce.

This session will provide information on how to acquire ASE Program Accreditation through the ASE Education Foundation using the ASE Accreditation Gap Analysis. The session will also cover the requirements for Automotive, Collison, Medium/Heavy Duty Truck, and EV/HV Program standards, tools, equipment, and tasks. We will go over the ASE accreditation checklist and timelines.

Please bring your laptop to this session.