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In closing, I’m proud to lead a world-class business like HII, and
I’m especially proud of the work we do in workforce development.
Like many of you, I know first-hand the importance of an education,
and I attribute that my father and mother knowing how important it was
for their six children.
In part, because of my parents—I get to build some of the most
complex ships in the world.
And I also get to participate in projects like “BlueprintVirginia” and
The Hamilton Project’s poverty-reduction related efforts.
I agree with both projects in that we need to improve and expand
access to high-quality early childhood education—especially for
disadvantaged children.
We also need to address the “parent-divide” and the gaps that exist
in our current public policy approach to early learning.
If you’re like me, you’re concerned not only from a business
perspective, but because you care about the future of our country.
So I ask the business leaders here today to consider joining me in
these efforts if you are not already plugged into them.
Ultimately, the prosperity of our nation is at stake.
That’s the long game in education—and one we cannot afford
to lose.
Thank you.
[Pause.]
I look forward to your questions and discussion.
Speech given on October 14, 2014, Jepson Alumni Center, University
of Richmond.
Mike Petters, President and CEO, Huntington Ingalls Industries.
As a retired public school teacher and administrator, I know that
the best schools have the best students. We teach all the children the
public sends to us. An apparent way to improve the student population
is to work with youngsters at an early age when brain formation is
quite rapid as Dr. Ramey has pointed out, and to direct children
toward lifetime goals as Mr. Petters stated.
Dr. Charles Todd is a retired Virginia teacher and school
administrator.
Continued from previous page
You want to invest where you will get returns.
Most forms of workforce development are an obvious investment.
If you spend money to train people who already work for you—or
people you know you will want to hire in a year or two—the returns are
relatively visible.
If you are going to invest in pre-K and grade school programs to get
people off to a good start, you may never see any of those kids in your
business.
That’s a much more philosophical investment. And I believe it’s
just as important.
It’s a human capital investment for the good of the country.
And as business leaders, it’s an investment we need to make for
American business to thrive globally.
I also believe businesses have a role to play in helping tailor creative
solutions to problems in their own communities.
You can work with school districts and local officials to make sure
the local educational infrastructure can provide qualified employees and
the resources to support their training.
At HII, we support early childhood initiatives such as the Downtown
Hampton Child Development Center, which is the highest-rated child
care facility in Hampton and one of the highest rated in the state.
And it delivers high-quality pre-school on a sliding scale.
We also support a similar organization in Mississippi called
Excel by 5 which focuses on young children in their most formative
years—birth to age 5.
We’ve seen first-handhowbusiness and communitypartnerships can
work directly with educators to support local organizations committed
to eliminating barriers to learning, such as poverty and hunger.
In today’s world, the truest test of an educational system is howwell
it succeeds in giving all of its children a globally competitive education.
If we really want to be successful at this and solve this problem at
its source, I believe we have to go all the way back up stream to pre-K
programs.
Smart Beginnings
from page 17
industry partners, maintain a business friendly environment and a hard
working, dedicated workforce, I see no reason why our economic
growth should be limited,” said Carrico.
This recent upswing is creating an optimistic future for Grayson
County. As Alma Bryan said, industries like Core are bolstering the
local economy, and when discussing county administration, she said
the following:
“That’s a good thing, Imean, GraysonCounty, needs it,” saidBryant.
“Plus it helps many of the other businesses. Even they were worried
because Nautilus was one of the bigger employers and purchasers of
goods and services. See if they went out, that hurts our entire town.”
Fortunately, for Grayson County citizens like Bryant, a dedicated
county team is working to boost the economy and revitalize the area.
Lydia Freeman is a graduate of Bluefield College and former Intern
at David Bailey Associates. Currently Teach for America fifth grade
teacher in Northampton County, NC.
Keith Sanders • 276-728-0540 Ext: 202
Economic
Growth
in Grayson County
from page 17
A picturesque scene of the fall leaves and twisting highways of Grayson County.
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