4C Academy Construction Instructor Randin Burley ready for January

Editors Note: This is the fifth installment of a series on non-traditional instructors at the 4C Academy

ALBANY — Commodore Conyers College and Career Academy Construction Instructor Randin Burley had taught industrial maintenance at Monroe High School and had returned to the industrial field to work when he decided a change might do him good.

“I taught high school students before from 2013 to 2015, and spent 10 years with the Job Corps. I left the school system and wanted to see how the industry had changed, and make sure my skills were where they needed to be.” Burley said. “I also wanted to see what enlightenment I could impart of the younger generation. I got a phone call asking me to come back (into the Dougherty County School System.)

“The opportunity presented itself and I decided it was something I really wanted to do. I have a passion for teaching. So I decided to come back.”

It didn’t take Burley long to figure out that the the 4CA was not your average school.

“This place is very different,” Burley said. “It opens a lot of doors and opportunities for young people to not fail. To be able to reach out to a level of success many have never experienced. The atmosphere is not like that of a high school which pretty much tailors toward numbers and statistics. This place offers programs to allow the kids to be very successful once they enter into the real world and into the industry they chose.

“The 4CA is designed to teach skills the kids can’t get in high school. It makes them more market ready.”

The Academy’s 450 students are using the first semester to determine one of 14 career pathways they will select in January. Burley thinks he will have little problem in getting his classes to make — especially when enrollment is expected to double after Phase II work on the building is completed in January.

“I expect to have more than my fair share of students because the construction aspect and electrical (another 4CA pathway) pretty much all tie in together,” he said. “This week I had the opportunity to go to Atlanta and get a refresher on the NCCER (National Construction Career Educational Resources), is recognized by the construction industry as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction industry. Certification is important.

“What that refresher will allow me to do is certify my students once they complete the program to enter their chosen field of work and be ready to go with all the credentialing they’ll need.”

When classes begin in January, Burley has a plan.

“The first thing they will learn is basic safety, after that we’ll get them OSHA certified under the NCCER model. then we will begin getting into the construction phase.” he said. “I’d like for my students to learn the basic fundamentals of the construction industry. If you get the fundamentals down you can tackle your footing, framing and everything that has to do with the aspect of construction.”

So far, Burley has found the change he was seeking.

“I think I’m going to like it here,” he said.