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Community Connections

The K–12 School Technology Initiative partners have used funding to provide services that allow districts to meet state and federal legislative mandates addressed under Community Connections. Programs support legislation from the EEDA, provision of Web-based information for parents and guardians, providing data to community leaders along with tools for data analysis, and using virtual learning to positively impact all learners in South Carolina.

All communities in South Carolina should have access to educational information in order to support the schools, students, and learning. The DISCUS Initiative, made possible by a combination of K–12 School Technology Initiative and State Library funds, provides all South Carolinians with access to an electronic library of essential information sources. The goal is to ensure equity of access to information regardless of a citizen's local or economic status. DISCUS databases can be accessed via computers that are connected to the Internet at participating higher education institutions throughout the state, as well as from computers in all public libraries and K–12 schools. In 2006, South Carolina residents used DISCUS to obtain over 7 million resources online. Twelve percent of DISCUS usage originates from the home and seven percent from public libraries.

South Carolina’s public libraries are successfully using the Internet to make a difference in people's lives. For example, REACH 2010 which is Charleston and Georgetown Diabetes Coalition’s Library Partnership, received $20,000 and was nationally recognized as America’s best library consumer health program More information can be found at the following URL: http://www.musc.edu/catalyst/archive/2006/co5-26reach.html. This is an excellent example of how libraries partner with academic centers in using the network supplied by the legislature to promote health and have a positive impact on South Carolina’s students and communities.

Knowitall Healthy is an ETV initiative, supported by K–12 School Technology Initiative funding that addresses community connections for the enhancement of student health and education. Knowitall Healthy was created to provide resources that support the objectives of the Student Health and Fitness Act 2005, currently being implemented in South Carolina schools. This act established physical education, school health services, and nutritional standards in schools. Three state agencies - the SC Department of Education, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, and ETV- are collaborating to heighten public awareness of the initiative and to extend its reach to all South Carolinians thus enhancing community connections for the betterment of education. Newly completed research shows a significant relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness. In light of this knowledge, Knowitall Healthy was created to help schools and communities address and improve upon the following statistics:

  • South Carolina ranks tenth in the United States for the number of overweight and obese people.
  • The number of overweight children in South Carolina has tripled since the 1960s.
  • South Carolina ranks first in the number of strokes, third in heart disease, and tenth in diabetes.
  • Twenty-five percent of children ages five to ten have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or other early warning signs of heart disease.
  • Regular physical activity helps to improve strength and endurance, prevents obesity and controls body weight, helps build healthy bones and muscles, and reduces stress.
  • According to a national report, for the first time in one hundred years the current generation of people will have a shorter life span than the previous generation due to a sedentary lifestyle.