City leaders want better career prep curriculum
Efforts to involve Rome High students with Floyd County Schools’ College and Career Academy have thus far failed.
Efforts to involve Rome students with Floyd County’s College and Career Academy have thus far failed.
During the Rome City Commission’s two-day planning retreat last month, the local development of Rome’s future workforce took up much of an afternoon, with Commissioner Craig McDaniel calling for enhancements to Rome City Schools’ career prep programs.
McDaniel said he initially approached Floyd County Schools Superintendent John Jackson about potentially opening up the system’s College and Career Academy to Rome High students.
“Then I went to Louis Byars, the new Rome superintendent, and he was interested in doing something, but said it would be more like a school within a school (at Rome High),” he said.
Jackson said that before
he assumed his post, he was aware that former FCS Superintendent Jeff McDaniel and former RCS Superintendent Mike Buck had engaged in some talks toward sharing some resources.
“I was told they never could get the schedules to work, the bell schedules and the timing,”
Jackson said. Both school systems’ boards have been in contact to try and figure out an option, he said, but “it just has not been able to get any traction for whatever reason.”
“I know there are discussions about (whether we could get) economies of scale if we joined with Floyd County and
possibly offered more programs,” Byars said. “I understand that philosophy, I don’t know if you could offer more programs.”
The Rome Floyd Chamber held an industrial job fair the week prior to the retreat and 750 showed up seeking jobs. Ken Wright, the director of business and industry services at the Chamber, said about 75 had sufficient skills to have been offered jobs.
Referring to the need for an enhanced career
prep program in the city schools, McDaniel said, “When that whistle blows the majority of those kids are not going to school on a football scholarship. We are doing a disservice to the majority of students at Rome High.”
“I know our students need those extra tools,” said Commissioner Bill Collins. “I don’t agree that we’re doing them a disservice.”
Collins said it’s important to figure out what local manufacturers’ wants and needs are. Commissioner Sundai Stevenson said that in the past, the school system used to funnel minority students toward vocational curriculum as opposed to college prep programs.
“College and career prep is important,” said Chamber President Al Hodge. He explained that the use of “college” in the college and career academy concept was intentional, to help reduce the stigma of going to a “trade school.”
Use of the term “technical college” simply helps separate institutions like Georgia Northwestern Technical College from traditional liberal arts colleges, Hodge added.
“It hurts my heart that the Rome City kids don’t have the same opportunity,” said Commissioner Wendy Davis. “This isn’t a traditional old shop class; we’re talking robotics and things like that. I’d like to find a way to collaborate, whether we need more money or more space.”
Rome High offers cosmetology and certified nursing assistant programs, along with some coursework in engineering, Byars explained.
“We already have some programs, but I want to grow them a lot more. I want to offer our students more options to learn about careers, that’s what a college and career academy is for,” he said.
Mayor Jamie Doss tried to rein in the discussion at the city retreat by saying the Rome city school
board doesn’t try to tell the City Commission how to run city government.
“But I do know we have employers who are looking for people with skills,” he said.
City Manager Sam- my Rich told commissioners that the community brags about the number of joint agreements the city and county governments have hammered out, such as the fire department, planning and building inspection offices, even recreation.
“I don’t think it’s unreasonable for two school boards to try to do the same thing,” he said. “If you guys are not going to consolidate then maybe think about ways to functionally consolidate (some programs).”
Jackson said he was not sure there is enough space at the CCA to accommodate
city students.
“Next fall we’re scheduled for almost 900 students, which makes it, technically, our largest high school,” Jackson said. “Even if we wanted to I don’t know how much we could make available to city students.”
Byars said one of the big concerns he has involves transportation. The county has a whole bus fleet that takes students from all four high schools to the CCA. Rome would have to arrange city buses for transportation, adding expenses and cutting into instructional time going from Rome High to the CCA.
If the city system could develop a facility on the Rome High campus, that problem would be solved.
Byars said that a new building — which would be funded in part by an extension of the education local option sales tax that is expected to go before voters this fall — on the Rome High campus could serve as a college and career facility. It would also free up other classroom space for what has been a growing student population.
Each of the past two freshman classes, Byars said, have had more than 500 students, and the eighth-graders, who will move up this fall, will also number close to 500. Compare that to the junior and senior classes of approximately 350 each currently at Rome High.
Jackson said there has been some discussion about ways to make the CCA more accessible in the future, and that could involve ELOST projects.
“We do realize the College and Career Academy program could really help with our economic development,” Jackson said. “Companies that come in can see that we plug right into whatever type of training, whatever type of workforce needs they have.”
Hodge said the community needs to come together to find out what is the most ideal, what is the most efficient and what is the most resourceful way to enhance the programs in both the city and county schools.
“Site-selection consultants say an educated workforce is top priority,” he said.
“They are working to- ward training students that are workforce ready,” Stevenson said.
Leaders in the medical community have indicat- ed to Byars there is a need for medical office assistants, and RCS is looking at a pathway that could be combined with the certified nursing assistant program.
Byars has also talked with Battalion Chief Danny Lee with the Rome Floyd County Fire Department about the need for an internship program that could prepare graduates for a career in fire fighting.
“We want to provide the best possible workforce for our community,” he said.