Newspaper Page Text
Page 10A,The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Commodore Conyers College & Career
Academy topic at Kiwanis DoCo
Special to the Ledger
By David Shivers
The Commodore Cony
ers College and Career
Academy is on the cusp
of starting Phase I reno
vation construction at the
former Southside Middle
School and hopes to have
students in the building
by the the beginning of
the 2017 school year, ac
cording to CCCCA CEO
Chris Hatcher.
Hatcher spoke to
the Kiwanis Club of
Dougherty County on
November 1 to offer
highlights of the acad
emy’s mission and how
it will be accomplished.
He said, “A college and
career academy is a spe
cialized charter school
established by a partner
ship which demonstrates
a collaboration between
business, industry,
education and commu
nity stakeholders” in a
workforce development
initiative.
Talk of a college and
career academy actu
ally started in 2011, said
Hatcher, “but for a vari
ety of reasons the timing
wasn’t right. But in the
last couple of months
we were successful in
getting our charter and
grant from the state, and
we have been authorized
since July of this year.”
The charter was granted
by the Georgia Depart
ment of Education and
funding of $3.3 million
- “a grant that is not in
significant,” Hatcher said
- for start-up and design
came from the Techni
cal College System of
Georgia.
The CCCCA is gov
erned by an 11-mem-
ber board of directors
that includes business
representation from the
areas of manufactur
ing, healthcare, defense,
agriculture, the Eco
nomic Development
Commission and the
Albany Area Chamber
of Commerce. Also
included are ex-officio
representatives from
the Dougherty school
system, Albany Techni
cal College, Albany State
University (including
Darton College) and
school superintendents
from Baker, Calhoun,
and Terrell counties.
The stated goals of
the CCCCA are four
fold: to meet workforce
needs of current and
future employers through
placements; increase
the number of students
in work-based learning;
reduce the dropout rate
and improve graduation
rates; and increase the
number of “Move on
When Ready” courses
taken at the local col
leges. The approach,
according to Hatcher,
will likewise be multi
faceted: to listen to cli
ents, local business, and
industry to determine
which programs are
needed and which skills
are required; work with
education partners to de
velop programs and the
skills that meet the needs
of business and industry;
and combine flexibility
as a charter school with
the benefits of the “Move
on When Ready” pro
gram to prepare students
for the workforce.
The academy will be
structured so that half
the students attend high
school classes in the
morning an the academy
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courses in the afternoon,
while the other half go
to the academy in the
morning and then school
after lunch.
“That way we can
serve twice the number
of what the school ca
pacity is,” said Hatcher.
Hatcher said, “We’ve
got folks leaving our
community, young folks
leaving, and (we have)
an aging workforce, so
it really comes down to
a supply-and-demand
issue.” The Georgia
Chamber of Commerce
has projected by 2030
the state will gain 1.9
million more residents
and over one million
new jobs. Southwest
Georgia, however, is
expected to lose 8-10
percent in population
and suffer a decrease in
workers, with 38 percent
more senior citizens
and a 14 percent drop in
Generation Xers.
A major focus of the
academy will be on the
development of “soft
skills” - work ethic,
communication and
problem-solving skills,
and teamwork. Twenty-
five percent of students’
grades will be based on
soft-skill achievement.
“I want to be clear
about this,” said Hatcher,
“This is not an Albany
phenomenon, this is
everywhere.” He added,
“You’re going to end up
training your employees
on what you need them
to do,” Hatcher said.
“What you don’t want to
do is to have to spend a
lot of time in this soft-
skills area.. .things you
don’t want or can afford
to spend a lot of time
on. We’re going to come
down on soft skills in
every program we’re of
fering” starting with 9th
grade students.
Hatcher observed,
“Most of us learned our
soft skills at home. What
I’ve learned in my short
time in the Dougherty
County School System
is that (the home envi
ronment) is fractured.
We’ve got kids raising
kids, grandparents rais
ing kids. I think if we
do our job here, really
provide those folks with
an understanding why
soft skills are important
in the world, we not only
will help them succeed
in school but also help
succeed in the work
place, succeed in their
family, in ways the kind
of family (many of us)
grew up in.”
While the CCCCA
hopes to grow to 1,000
students in five years,
Hatcher said, “I really
think it will be much
quicker than that. We’re
in the process now of
surveying our students
in our high schools
and middle schools to
determine interest.” At
a certain point, demand
will probably exceed
capacity and the acad
emy will likely move to
a lottery-style system to
determine admissions,
he indicated.
Hatcher concluded
by urging local busi
nesses to “invest” in the
academy by providing
“input on our programs.
In order for us to be
successful we’ve got to
place students in our
local businesses and
industry. Understanding
your needs is impor
tant. We’re also going
to need internships and
apprenticeships for these
students.”
LCES students enjoyed Career Day! Thanks
to all the area businesses that participated in
helping them educate thier students.
Capt. Henry Wirz
Memorial Service
November 13
Special to the Ledger
The annual Capt.
Henry Wirz Memorial
Service will be held in
Andersonville Sunday
November 13, at 3:00
p.m. The public is
invited to attend. The
Service is sponsored
by the Alexander H.
Stephens Camp, Sons of
Confederate Veterans
(SCV), in Americus.
In case of inclement
weather, the Memorial
Service will be held in
the Old Village Hall in
Andersonville.
Guest speaker for the
Service will be SCV
Commander-in-Chief
Thomas Strain from
Athens, Alabama. The
local SCV Camp has
been sponsoring or co
sponsoring the annual
Memorial Service since
1976. Capt. Henry Wirz
was the Commander of
Andersonville Prison
Camp from 1864 to the
end of the War in 1865.
Preceding the Me
morial Service in
Andersonville on Nov.
13 at 2:30 p.m., the
musical group, Southern
Sounds, will present
Southern music and
Church songs.
For more information,
contact James Gaston
at 229-924-7460 (gas-
ton7460@bellsouth.
net) or John Carroll at
924-8751.
I would like to express my appreciation to the
Lee County Public Works Department for the
outstanding work that they performed on Flow
ing Well Road. This is an example of workman
ship at its best and we should be proud of this
crew and the caliber of work performed.
Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who's the biggest
crook of 011? In government I don't know, too
many unidentified or un-indicted contenders.
Father Sod, please curb my careless speech
and put a guard on my tongue today and ever
day.
Next time work is needed under the house,
fat boy will turn it over to the wife. AC ducts
are lower than they used to be.
With Christmas coming, there is supposed to
be more peace on earth. My advice, get your
doctor to up the Prozac dosage, and enjoy the
holiday more peacefully.
Tree companies are going to be busy removing
dead trees real soon. Set multiple quotes and
have it done during winter months, if we have a
winter.
With the Marlow extension done, time to push
DOT to give the 520/82 race track a traffic
light at Hickory Road. Ticking time bomb, too
much traffic and poor visibility. This may help
at Fairethorne by creating periodic breaks.
President pardoning Thanksgiving turkey will
have less significance since he has pardoned so
many criminals this year.
When you go to a doctor and see only a PA or
nurse, is the visit billed at the doctor's rate or
less?
Silver ads on TV are misleading, trading at
half its all time high. No mention that the high
was set by the Hunt Bros market manipulation
years ago. Typical.
Make me a gentle person, Lord. Give me a
spirit of self-control and patience.
Riding around this weekend and seeing all the
miniature corn plants in the fields I realized
where all the little ears of corn come from in
oriental food.
I wonder how Lee schools are doing with using
and protecting expensive electronic devices
bought for students and faculty?
The founding fathers wrote that all men are
created equal. They never said it was govern
ment's job to make sure all are still equal after
creation.
Alleys make it easy for criminals to case your
joint and choose what to steal while providing
an entry point to your yard. One thing that
might help in Albany and elsewhere is to cut
out the "alley riders" scouring garbage and
trash for metal or whatever.
It's shameful for a sitting President to end
lessly campaign for his replacement. And
endorsing a candidate at state level--not even
running for his party but being the same race--
is just as bad or worse.
I don't understand a former first lady cam
paigning for a candidate as corrupt as they
come in a party supporting abortion. Politics
and religion don't seem to mix well do they?
Go to work Trojans and whup up on 'em!
Drove the new Marlow Ext. Betcha it will
have more traffic in a week than the new For
ester Ext in Oakland has in a year.
Election results unknown at this time but if
you voted for Hillary, it's too late for sorry.
We have learned more about government in
this election than most could possibly imagine.
I knew things were bad but never in my most
cynical moments felt things were so bad.
I live in a MHP in Lee County, where exempt
for a few, NOBODY works. Do these working
people realize they are taking care of all these
young able body people who seat around all day
everyday and do nothing?
It's really upsetting that Lee County animal
control will not do anything for the cat prob
lems in some of these neighborhoods. If a dog
gets out they will pick it up in a heartbeat but
in my neighborhood there is nothing short of
40 to 50 cats that just run around messing up
everyone's yards carrying diseases, they liter
ally sat in the truck watching 8 cats wander
around...
Allan Russell's letter to the editor was wrong,
it specifically states in the Constitution that a
President cannot pardon them self.