Best Practices & Results

Technical Career Academy Graduates First Class
by Naja Williamson
Senior Writer

Can youth who are at risk of school failure and dropping out become motivated to stay in school and graduate? Howard Ledford, CEO and Director of the Technical Career Academy (TCA) of Northeast Georgia, says resoundingly, "Yes!"

"Students are more successful at TCA than in traditional school because in TCA they take ownership of their learning," Ledford said. "We strive to relate what they learn and work on in class to their world. This helps them understand why they are learning and how it applies to them."

Educating Core Skills

The Technical Career Academy of Northeast Georgia received its charter from the Georgia Board of Education and the Department of Education in September 2000, opened its doors in September 2002, and graduated its first class in May 2004. Working with youth at risk of school failure and dropout, the Academy educates high school youth in the core life and work/career skills needed to gain immediate gainful employment and build a strong foundation for further education and future careers.

"First we assess our students and place them at their own level," Ledford said. "Each student is at a different level and works individually in weak areas. What this does is remove competition. Instead, lots of peer tutoring and mentoring takes place in the classroom."

Partnering for Success

What began with a Family Connection community survey of Oglethorpe County in fall 1998 has attracted the interest of more than 250 partners from Oglethorpe County, Northeast Georgia, and across the state. TCA partners include:

• Oglethorpe County Board of Education and Athens Technical College
  
• State agencies, including the departments of Education, Labor, and Technical and Adult Education
  
• Business, industry and civic groups
  
• Workforce, economic and community development groups
  
• Students and families

The program also sparks and holds students' interest by using different types of interactive classroom participation. Students have opportunities to:

• Participate in facilitator-led discussions that link study to the workplace and work ethics.
  
• Listen to community people talk about real life subjects. Speakers from business and industry discuss their work, the kinds of skills they look for when hiring, and the types of careers available.
  
• Learn practical life skills (accessing social services support, going to college, saving money, buying a car, and leasing an apartment/house).
  
• Receive training in areas of interest — Web page design, surfing the Internet, CPR training, and more.
  
• Present individual and group projects.

Aiming for Results

In the 2003-2004 school year, TCA served four counties — Elbert, Green, Madison, and Oglethorpe-with plans to expand into four additional counties this fall. The results achieved by TCA's first 45 students include:

• An average gain of 3.6 levels in math
  
• An average gain of 3.2 levels in reading
  
• 10 TCA students received a GED
  
• 2 TCA students entered the military
  
• 15 TCA students are or will be enrolled in college
  
• 19 TCA students graduated with a high school diploma in May
  
• 12 candidates for graduation are enrolled in college, and five are employed
  
• 84 percent of the graduating class are either in college or employed

For more information view the TCA Web site: http://www.technicalcareeracademy.org/index.html

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