Arts and Economics Advancements in Dalton

On Monday, March 25, UGA Masters in Public Administration student Megan Miller met with the Archway Arts and Economic Development Work Group to discuss her research on arts as an economic development tool.  The group is studying best practices from other communities and hopes to create web-based messaging that promotes Greater Dalton as a vibrant arts community.



Members of the Arts and Economic Development Team have a discussion.

To view events leading up to this please view the following links:

http://dalton-whitfieldarchway.blogspot.com/2012/06/uga-student-presents-research-on.html

http://dalton-whitfieldarchway.blogspot.com/2012/09/dalton-whitfield-convenes-task-force-to.html

 

R2L Featured in Chamber Link

The Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce recently released the March 2013 edition of their local magazine Chamber Link.  An article about the Readers to Leaders local literacy initiative was featured this month.  The title of the article was “The Power of Partnerships” written by Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Professional Melissa Lu.  The article describes the great dedication of local partners and volunteers that came together and overcame challenging circumstances to make a difference in the Dalton-Whitfield community.  To read this article please go to the following link: http://bit.ly/R2LChamberLink

March 2013 Chamber Link cover page.

DEM Camp TV Taping

Thursday, March 14, 2013 was an exciting day!  We had the opportunity to visit with two outstanding young students from last year’s DEM (Design, Engineering and Manufacturing) Camp on our local TV program, Dalton Today, hosted by Brian Anderson, President of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce.  During the month of March, Dalton Today will focus on initiatives created through the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership.
 

In an effort to share a realistic picture of the camp and camp activities, we invited two of last year’s campers.  Henry Stevenson, a 7^th grader at Dalton Middle School, and Sylvia Earley, a 5^th grader at Eastside Elementary, participated in the taping.  Both students were confident and poised as they spoke, and were very positive about the camp and all of the activities.  Henry showed viewers the circuit board that he had made at the camp as well as the car he had designed.  His car design was printed on the three-D printer and Henry shared information on the use of these printers to make prototypes in industry.  Sylvia brought her rug that she designed and was printed by Shaw Industries.  Sylvia’s design was selected as the winning rug design from the camp.

Brian Anderson speaks with Eastside Elementary student Sylvia Earley about her experience at DEM.

The students related activities going on in their school classrooms, expressing how their teachers relate math, social studies and other topics to the real world so they can better understand the concepts.  Both students shared their enthusiastic approach to learning.

Both Henry and Sylvia hope to attend the camp again this summer.  Camp organizers look forward to sharing different experiences with them and many other young learners.

Improvements for Literacy and Early Brain Development Database

In July 2012, Jordan Manis, an Archway Partnership employee and Dalton State College student, initiated a project to create a community database that included a list of programs and services supporting literacy and early brain development in the Dalton-Whitfield community.  The need for this database was first articulated by the Archway Partnership Executive Committee and the Investing in Public Education Issue Work Group, noting that there is no comprehensive list of these programs in the area.  In November 2012, Jordan completed the first phase of data collection and program research.  With the help of University of Georgia Masters in Nonprofit Administration student Leize Marie Davis, a searchable database was created.  On December 5,2012, Jordan and Leize Marie discussed the newly created database with the Archway Partnership Executive Committee and sought guidance on how to move forward with the information.  This meeting led to the creation of the Literacy and Early Brain Development Database Workforce Development Team.  This team brings together local partners with the knowledge and insights of child and adult literacy programs and early brain development programs and services in the community.  The team will advise Jordan and Leize Marie on improvements to the database and make it more useful to the community. 

UGA Masters in Nonprofit Administration student Leize Marie Davis (Left) and Archway Partnership employee and Dalton State student Jordan Manis (Right).

The Literacy and Early Brain Development Database Workforce Development Team met in February to discuss the programs in the database and identify any missing entities or additional information to be added.  The group worked together, using their connections in the community to enhance the database.  The team met again on March 13, to suggest potential reports from the database information that will be helpful to the community.  For example, a report could show a map of locations across Dalton-Whitfield that provide nutrition programs.  This information will be useful not only to clients in need of a nutrition program, but also for service providers to identify nutrition program gaps that need to be filled in certain areas.  The team will meet again in April to determine the next steps of this project.

Members of the Literacy and Early Brain Development Database Workforce Development Team discuss progression for the database.

Readers to Leaders Update: March

On Wednesday, March 6, the Readers to Leaders Workforce Development Team met at the Northwest Georgia Regional Library in Dalton.  The group was excited to hear that the Readers to Leaders billboards have been placed around the community.  Other exciting news is that Readers to Leaders will receive the “Four for the Future” award from the University of Georgia’s Office of the Vice President for Public Service and Outreach and Georgia Trend.  A feature article on Readers to Leaders will be included in the April edition of Georgia Trend magazine. 

 Other topics discussed at the meeting included:

·        Pam Partain will present Readers to Leaders at the Dalton Rotary Club on March 19^th.

·        The group discussed the importance of communicating about the literacy collaborative in our community and suggested ideas of how to promote the collaborative between the school systems.

·        Pre-School Registration updates were given:

o    Location of pre-k registration has been changed to the Mack Gaston Community Center.

o   A shuttle will be provided for parents who need transportation to the Health Department.

o   Rock Bridge Community Church will be providing one book for each child during registration.

·        Plans for the Week of the Young Child event hosted by Rock Bridge Community Church on April 21^st  were discussed.  More details will follow.

·        The 2nd Annual Literacy Celebration is scheduled for July 18, 2013 at the Mack Gaston Community Center.  More details will follow.

·        The library board voted to endorse the Reach Out and Read Program.

·        A calendar of literacy events for 2013 was provided to attendees to serve as a guide for event planning.  To review this calendar please go to the following link:  http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Events-by-month.pdfm

Check out the minutes for full details from this meeting at the following link: http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Agenda-Mar.-Minutes1.pdf

 

Hawkins Speaks Out About Support For Local Schools

On Thursday, February 14, an article was published in the Dalton Daily Citizen by the Kiwanis Club of Dalton.  Archway Executive Committee member and Dalton Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Jim Hawkins, spoke openly to the group about the much needed support for the school systems.  Dr. Hawkins spoke about the increasing population within the schools and the higher levels of diversity in each classroom.  He spoke about the growing needs of the students and that the funds to meet these needs are low.  Dr. Hawkins discussed budget cuts and the plans for ESPLOST funding.

Dalton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim Hawkins

To read this article please got to the following link: http://daltondailycitizen.com/education/x766088366/Hawkins-to-Kiwanians-Schools-cannot-do-it-alone

Georgia Tech Completes Business Incubator Assessment for Dalton-Whitfield County

Writer: Alex Stall, (706) 712-0953, stall@daltonchamber.org

Contact: Elyse Cochran-Davis, (706) 712-0956, cochran@daltonchamber.org  

Georgia Tech completes business incubator assessment for Dalton-Whitfield County

Chamber of Commerce and local public entities cited as possible funding sources

March 5, 2013 - Dalton, Ga --- Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute recently concluded a business incubator readiness assessment for Dalton and revealed the results to community leaders and interested citizens. A recommendation of the Archway Partnership Diverse, Forward-Thinking Economy Issue Work Group, the idea of a business start-up center has been discussed over the past few years as a way to assist aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Researchers from the Enterprise Innovation Institute spent part of last year studying Dalton’s economic trends and meeting with entrepreneurs, small businesses, community leaders and other citizens. Their research has concluded that the Dalton-Whitfield area would benefit from the introduction of a business incubation program, and that the community should move forward on its creation.

“Georgia Tech was commissioned to study our community’s readiness for an incubator after a recommendation of an Archway Partnership work group,” said Melissa Lu, Archway Professional for Whitfield County. “I’m pleased with the results of the study, and I am hopeful a strong community effort will result in the realization of this goal.”

The Georgia Tech researchers propose that the entity tasked with achieving this goal of an incubator move with patience and caution, as there are key factors that must be addressed before an incubation program can be up and running.

“Most importantly, an incubator requires local funding and a long-term commitment,” Lu added.

A consideration listed in Georgia Tech’s study was a “low desire for public (financial) support of private enterprises.” A follow up survey to the study results indicated otherwise, according to the Archway Partnership.

In the survey results, The Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, Whitfield County, City of Dalton, Dalton State College and private industry (such as banks) were cited most often as possible funding partners to an incubator effort.

“Most incubation programs are private-public partnerships,” said Brian Anderson, president of Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce. “I think an incubator would be valuable for Greater Dalton, but we need to determine the appropriate financial partners to make this a long-term success.”

If the community elects to move forward with the incubator idea, Georgia Tech will provide additional research and recommendations about what type of incubator, services to offer and businesses to target for Dalton.

Readers to Leaders Update: February

On February 6, members of the Readers to Leaders (R2L) Workforce Development Team met to discuss the next steps going forward with R2L.  Key items discussed included:

·        Developing buttons for R2L

·        Bolstering this year’s Pre-K Registration and providing a link to literacy for families attending the event

·        Celebrating the Week of the Young Child with a literacy focus

·        Update on new R2L billboards

·        Library’s decision to work with local stakeholders to implement the Reach Out and Read program

·        R2L New Ideas

·        Branding R2L

·        Readers to Leaders slated to receive the Georgia Trend and University of Georgia “Four for the Future” Award

Check out the minutes for full details from this meeting at the following link: http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Agenda-Feb.-Minutes.pdf

Providing Internet Access to Students in Dalton-Whitfield

On January 24, Dalton Public Schools representative Will Esters met with University of Georgia Ph.D. student Lenie George and University of Georgia Assistant Professor of Learning, Design, and Technology Dr. T.J. Kopcha at the UGA campus to further discuss how to provide internet access to all families throughout the Dalton-Whitfield area.  This meeting reflects a three plus year conversation in the Dalton-Whitfield community about how to narrow the impact of the digital divide and correspondingly increase prosperity for all citizens.  After discussing many options, the group decided to narrow their focus and hone in on how to provide internet access to students provided with school-distributed devices to bolster engagement and success in school.  Lenie is currently researching best practices in other communities that have tackled this goal and will report his findings to the community in the near future. 

DSC Spotlight: Nancy Mason Translates Education Surveys

In January, the Archway Partnership and local partners wrapped up the community education survey and collected results.  Many of the completed surveys contained comments from Dalton-Whitfield’s Spanish speaking population.  Faced with a time crunch and limited interpretation resources, the Archway Partnership reached out to local partners for translation assistance.  Thanks to the resourcefulness of Dalton State College Vice President for Academic Affairs Sandra Stone and the willingness of Dalton State College Assistant Professor of Spanish Dr. Nancy Mason, all surveys were quickly interpreted so that UGA staff could enter them into the database and focus on compiling results.

Dalton State College Assistant Professor of Spanish Dr. Nancy Mason

The Archway Partnership wants to publicly thank Dr. Mason for her help in translating the Spanish surveys.  Her assistance in this process made it possible to gather important comments made by our community members.



Moving Forward with the Community Education Survey Results

In December and January, the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership worked with local partners to circulate a community education survey.  The survey was designed to evaluate the public’s perception of the local school systems and determine what those perceptions are based upon.  Over the past month, University of Georgia law student Matthew Wilson has been working with College of Education faculty Dr. JoBeth Allen and Dr. Janna Dresden, to analyze the education survey results.  Matthew is currently working to finalize the summary report.

Rock Bridge and Chamber of Commerce Partner with R2L to Create Billboards

The Readers to Leaders literacy initiative is a growing endeavor in the Dalton-Whitfield community.  Readers to Leaders is a community literacy initiative to support the LiteracyCollaborative and encourage reading outside of the classroom.  In an effort to inform the community on this initiative and the resources it represents for families, the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce has offered to sponsor Readers to Leaders billboards in the area.  As a result of this offer, Marla Sanford, graphics designer for Rock Bridge Community Church, has volunteered her time to develop these billboards.  To get the first look at the future billboards check out the designs at  http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Designs-for-Future-Readers-to-Leaders-Billboards.pdf

 

Dalton-Whitfield Archway Facebook Page in Progress

Over the past couple of months the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership has been working with a University of Georgia student with experience in social media, Rosanna Cruz, to develop the structure of the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership’s Facebook page.  Rosanna and Archway team members have discussions to continually improve the page from month to month. 

Rosanna Cruz

The Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Facebook page is a great way to stay in touch with local initiatives in the community.  To check out this Facebook page go to the following link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalton-Whitfield-Archway-Partnership/432782186759959

If you or your organization is interested in starting or improving your Facebook page, be sure to check out the social media guide developed by Rosanna.  It is available free of charge at http://archwaypartnership.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Social-Media-Guide_Rosanna-Cruz_2012_FINAL_reduced.pdf