Middle Georgia Technical College

Houston County Awarded $3 Million Career Academy Grant

HOUSTON COUNTY, GA - The Houston County Board of Education (HCBOE) and Middle Georgia Technical College (MGTC) in partnership have been awarded a $3 million grant for a career academy. The State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia approved the award today. The goal of a career academy is to provide students the training needed to fill existing jobs, or jobs that will exist soon, and to ensure that all students have the necessary skills and work ethic for employment prior to leaving high school. MGTC will offer dual enrollment certificate programs at the Houston County Career Academy so that high school students may earn job-relevant college credit at no cost to them or their parents while still in high school.

"We are very excited about this grant award," commented Superintendent of Schools David Carpenter. "This is a collaborative effort of our school system, Middle Georgia Technical College, and our business community. We greatly appreciate the work of the steering committee, chaired by Mr. Tom McMichael, and everyone who helped bring this effort to fruition. Now the work begins!"

Dr. Ivan Allen, president of Middle Georgia Technical College, said "We are very pleased that Lt. Governor Cagle has announced this grant for Houston County. This provides an excellent opportunity for us to work together with the Houston County School System to provide students with a seamless education relevant to today's workforce needs. We look forward to the task ahead in implementing the Houston County Career Academy."

In April 2008, the HCBOE and MGTC convened a group of business leaders, educators, government leaders, parents and students to study the potential of a career academy as a district-approved charter school. The Houston County Career Academy Steering Committee was chaired by Tom McMichael in coordination with the HCBOE Director of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education, Barbara Wall. The Committee gathered data from local businesses on the needs of the Houston County workforce. This data will drive decisions such as curriculum or new programs to offer to meet well-defined local needs.

Wall commented, "This is fabulous news! The career academy process has been a true team effort among MGTC, our business community and our school system. Our partnership looks forward to implementing our career academy plans to better prepare our students for the future workforce."

For more information, contact Wall at (478) 988-6222, extension 10226, or Barbara.Wall@hcbe.net