Birth to Work Education Steering Committee Strategizes About Next Steps

Over the past month, leaders from the Prenatal to Pre-K, K-12, and Higher Education Work Groups have strategized about how the conversations in each of their work groups can lead to education transformation in Whitfield County. These steering committee members summarized the recommendations from each of the work groups into a list of potential initiatives to undertake in 2012. The steering committee is currently working with faculty and students at the University of Georgia to demonstrate why each of the proposed initiatives is important to the future of the community and to develop efficient, effective solutions.

In early 2012, the education steering committee hopes to share their presentation with local leaders to discuss feasibility and funding.

The proposed initiatives are as follows:

Initiative 1: Educate our community on nutrition and healthy lifestyles and their impact on learning.

Initiative 2: Provide universal Pre-K in the face of state budget cuts.

Initiative 3: Make the community the classroom by:

o Making free wireless internet available throughout the city and county; and

o Making portable, internet-accessible technology available to all students.

Initiative 4: Further develop relationships and articulation agreements between high schools, GNTC, and DSC so that students can move seamlessly between the systems.

Initiative 5: Encourage the Board of Regents to phase in an MBA program at DSC in place of the KSU program.

Initiative 6: Focus on Career and College Readiness in 5th – 12th grade by:

• Offering programs like Design, Engineering & Manufacturing (DEM) Camp, EXPLORE WEEK, and DREAM WEEK;

• Showing students real opportunities available to them in the community; and

• Forming partnerships with innovators and entrepreneurs that allow students to develop skills.

Initiative 7:  Form an on-going, community-wide education consortium so that we can keep the community involved in education and continue to discuss long-range/emerging issues.