Last week Breanna Torres, a senior at Central High School, led me through the halls of the Carroll County College and Career Academy, a connection of the Carroll County School System. Located off Newnan Road across from the Carroll County Health Department, the Academy features several top career programs aimed to train Carroll County’s high schoolers in the field of their choice. From healthcare internships to automotive apprenticeships, the Academy has something of interest for any student.
Torres herself attends the Academy’s healthcare science training courses. She has had the opportunity to ride along with EMTs – one of which is her CCA instructor Chris Smith – in ambulances. The hands-on experience further emboldened Torres’ passion for her field of interest.
During the tour Smith interjected that some students come from as far as Mt. Zion to attend the classes, citing that receiving base-level certifications and countless on-the-job hours proved invaluable to these students.
“By the time they are out of high school, they will have had hours upon hours of experience that they can show to future employers,” Smith emphasizes.
CCA students have the opportunity to choose other pathways as well. Torres brought me into Chef Tiffany Lewis’ classroom/kitchen, where she was carefully instructing her students on preparing the food for the day’s event – which by the way smelled and tasted amazing.
Thanks to plentiful funding, CCA’s Culinary Arts classroom holds equipment expected of any professional kitchen. Students have the opportunity not only to learn skills they can use at home, but also to practice ones that they can use in the fields of hospitality.
David Green, who oversees Engineering and Robotics, described in detail the computer programs and equipment his students learn in his classroom.
“They use programs like Aspire and AutoCAD Inventor, which are extremely valuable to our community employers,” Green states. “Not many applicants to their jobs have hands-on experience with these programs.”
Green’s students not only use these programs to design their projects, but they must also translate their plans into something that can be made with the equipment they have – the 3D printer for plastics, the saws for wood. Green also adds that he himself continues to learn the new programs with the students, despite studying architecture in college.
“I’ve been doing this for twenty-four years, and I still make mistakes,” he admits. “But you cannot give up!”
The other CCA instructors are just as inspiring. Deanna Crews, instructor in Early Childhood Education and Home Economics, shared that even though she started teaching in her mid-thirties, learning alongside the kids and teaching them basic child safety habits and sewing skills brings her so much joy.
Dana Phillips, who teaches Law and Public Safety, started her career in the Juvenile Court system. She conveyed that her desire for young adults to thrive in the community began when she witnessed many who were struggling and had gotten off on the wrong foot. Now, seeing her students thrive and understand the basics of good citizenship makes the job all the worthwhile.
Jon Maples, instructor for Audio/Video Production and Film, shared that cultivating creativity is just as important as informing the students of the laws surrounding their work. If it’s not original, it’s not yours, and it’s not being published. Maples states that his students are receptive and creative and have gone off to work for HGTV, and Atlanta United.
“All the success boils down to group work,” he said. “Some come in and think they can do all this by themselves.” He gestures to the green screen and the control panels on a table. “All this takes team effort!”
To one side of the building a garage door stands ajar as three students work on repairs. Steve Sumner, the instructor, has already taught them the basics of engine repair, oil changes, and tire rotations. The students are fully absorbed in the work and actually complete the work by the time Sumner has finished showing me around. There at CCA, students can become ASE Certified, making them experienced enough to hold well-paying positions right out of high school – not to mention confident enough to fix their own vehicles!
The list goes on and on. Graphic Design, Information Technology, and Computer Science classes offer students opportunities to gain confidence and excel in their chosen fields. Even if the students decide after an internship with a community partner that that particular career path isn’t for them, students can have the chance to determine which path is for them and which isn’t.
Torres herself shared that she feels even more confident with each passing class that healthcare is her field, and it’s all thanks to the CCA instructors, chosen for their specific skills set and career focus as well as their ability to connect with the kids.
The College and Career Academy has demonstrated over the years that its instructors and community business partnerships have enriched the students’ lives and provided stable jobs students can find fulfilling. With over three hundred interned students at just under one hundred local businesses, CCA equips the next generation of local workers to excel in their own way and in their own area.
