"Across the South, limited access to technology, advanced coursework and workforce pipelines continues to restrict opportunity. Students in rural and low-income areas are less likely to receive early exposure to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). In South Carolina, only 42% of third through eighth-grade students are performing in math at grade level. The result is a widening skills gap that not only hurts the future of young people in these communities, but also threatens long-term economic competitiveness across South Carolina and the nation."
"One of us represents Silicon Valley in Congress and helped lead the CHIPS and Science Act to ensure American innovation is geographically diverse. The other founded the ICAN Innovation Center in Columbia, South Carolina - an independently built community hub that expands access to science and technology education for students, families and local entrepreneurs. Together, we share a common goal: to bring technology and innovation to communities that have been left behind by the offshoring of jobs. How do we begin to close the gap?"
Limited access to technology, advanced coursework and workforce pipelines restricts opportunity across the South, with only 42% of third through eighth-grade students in South Carolina performing at grade-level math. The widening skills gap harms youth futures and threatens regional and national economic competitiveness. Ensuring technology investment and workforce development reaches every region, not just major coastal hubs, is essential. Legislative action like the CHIPS and Science Act aims to diversify American innovation geographically. The ICAN Innovation Center in Columbia, built through local and private support, provides STEAM education, adult retraining, AR/VR product development, 3D CAD and robotics labs, and medical simulation facilities.
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