DCSS BOE approves equipment purchases for 4CA

ALBANY — The Dougherty County School Board breezed through a light agenda Monday night, approving a policy change for homeless students and major equipment purchases for the Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy.

The homeless students policy change was adopted in the form of an amendment to the School System’s current policy.

That amendment allows homeless students partial credit for classes they have already completed elsewhere. The change will provide the students an opportunity to apply those credits toward their high school diplomas.

“Regardless of a student’s living arrangements, they are still entitled to a quality education,” DCSS spokesman J.D. Sumner said. “As a school district, we’re doing everything we can to stay on top of the most recent trends in social support.”

Last late year, four rural school districts — Dougherty, McIntosh, Pierce and Tift — were awarded $1.1 million FastTrack grants. The money was awarded to rural systems in south Georgia schools, and will fund construction-related equipment grants, which are awarded in the middle of the fiscal year to support schools.

The board approved much of the grant to purchase equipment for the 4CA — including $158,978 for 3D printers, $20,972 for 3D printer hardware, $22,279 for an LS30 laser engraver, $28,361 for a milling machine and $79, 551 for video production lab equipment.

After the meeting adjourned, Superintendent Ken Dyer took a moment to praise the 4CA’s rookie robotics team, which will represent the 4CA at the FIRSTRobotics Championship in Houston. That competition will begin April 20.

After competing in two district qualifying competitions and the FIRST Robotics state-level event, the Commodores finished 22nd out of 82 teams in Georgia. According to the team’s co-coach and 4C Academy IT instructor Darren Hagler, “The Commodores have done an exceptional job this year, especially considering their rookie status. This is the second time in southwest Georgia FRC history that a team from this area has qualified for the FIRST Championships.”

In addition to building a competitive robot, the Commodores were awarded the title of Georgia Rookie All Star team, which is presented to the first-year team that best exemplifies the mission of FIRST Robotics. Hagler said, “A team must receive the Rookie All Star award at the district level to be eligible for the award at the state competition. By winning the Georgia state Rookie All Star award, we secured a place at the World Competition in Houston.”

“Winning the Rookie All Star award for the state of Georgia is an exceptional honor for our team as well as the 4C Academy,” academy CEO Chris Hatcher said. “To be eligible, rookie teams must demonstrate professional skills, including teamwork, collaboration, work ethic, marketing and professional appearance. This award is particularly exciting to me because these are the very skills that we work on every day at the 4C Academy.”

“We couldn’t be prouder of the 4C Academy team and what they’ve been able to accomplish,” Dyer said. “Even above the technical aspects of their achievement, they’ve been recognized for exhibiting skills such as teamwork and collaboration, which are critical for success. The Commodores are an excellent example of what we strive for in the DCSS, excellence both inside and outside of the classroom.”

In preparation for the trip to Houston, the Commodores will conduct several fundraising efforts and are offering sponsorship opportunities. Additional information is available through the 4C Academy.