Worth, Tift counties receive grant money for new college and career academies

ATLANTA — Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus and Rep. Ed Rynders, R-Leesburg, ecently joined Lt. Governor Casey Cagle, along with local school officials from Tift and Worth counties for check presentations highlighting the $3.1 million grant each system received to create the Tift College and Career Academy as well as the Worth County High School College and Career Academy.

“A one-size-fits-all education model is no longer viable for our students in today’s modern, 21st-century economy,” said Cagle. “Our outstanding network of college and career academies embraces the individuality of each student, helping to craft an education plan tailored to their goals and interests. This investment reaffirms our commitment to providing world-class educational opportunities all across our great state.”

“This kind of investment has the ability to truly transform the educational opportunities our communities have access to in Southwest Georgia,” Kirk said. “I’m deeply appreciative of the lieutenant governor for his leadership with Georgia’s college and career academies. Both academies will greatly expand the reach of our educational resources so that we increase student achievement across the board.”

Over the last decade, no Georgia community has consistently had more high school students participating in dual enrollment in a technical college than Tift County.

After several years of planning, the stakeholders of Tift County decided to create Tift College and Career Academy as a “school within a school” inside Tift County High School. The mission of TCCA states that it will be the economic engine of the Tift County area, preparing students to succeed in a globally competitive work force that will positively impact the economy of the region.

In Sylvester, the vision of Worth County College and Career Academy is to ensure that all students are college- and career-ready. That facility’s mission is to ensure a quality education and access to industry-relevant workplace skills leading to graduation and productive citizenship.

Officials said the mission guides focus their efforts on providing high-quality experiences for all students in Worth County. Transitioning to a college and career academy, where all students have access to high-quality industry training, shows industries and business leaders that the system is making every effort to better the community and region by increasing opportunities for the local work force.

According to a statement from Cagle’s office, Georgia’s college and career academies, a priority initiative of the lieutenant governor’s, partner local school systems with the state’s technical colleges, other post-secondary institutions and local businesses, enabling the development of high school- and college-level programs that train students for quality, in-demand jobs.

Students find that the academies’ challenging, hands-on programs provide greater relevancy and value, which not only lead to higher graduation rates, but also employment. The specified training for students is attractive to area businesses, and communities prosper from the highly-trained and skilled work force. Businesses have found that college and career academy partnerships provide them with a qualified and skilled work force, according to Cagle.

There are now 40 college and career academies in Georgia.