Superintendent: ‘2023 is going to be very exciting’
Superintendent Chance Nix said, “2023 is going to be very exciting in Catoosa County Public Schools (CCPS). With ESPLOST 6, we are completing facility equitability projects including a new theater at Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School, and we are opening the From HERE to CAREER Academy. Opening the College and Career Academy is an important step in our Georgia Charter System contract, and the community will see more college and career-focused initiatives in kindergarten through twelfth grade. School safety and student achievement are always our top priorities, and we will continue to focus on these objectives.”
Our community overwhelmingly approved the 6th Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax in March 2021, and it is very exciting to see new construction, facility equitability, and maintenance projects in the district. With ESPLOST 6, we have renovated the auditorium at Tiger Creek Elementary School. At LFO we are completing facility equitability projects by replacing the tennis courts, enhancing the baseball and softball complexes and field houses, purchasing new fencing and bleachers for the baseball and softball stadiums, and building a new theater.
In addition to facility construction, maintenance, and equitability projects, ESPLOST also funds new buses to maintain safe transportation. With ESPLOST 6, we purchased 17 new buses.
In 2016, the Board of Education determined that the district should explore opening a College and Career Academy. With overwhelming support from businesses and the community, the district applied for a $3 million grant from the Technical College System. The application was funded in 2019, and the project was included in the ESPLOST 6 referendum. With a donation of land from the county commissioners in 2018, the From HERE to CAREER Academy will open on the Benton Place Campus in August 2023.
The Academy will serve juniors and seniors from the district’s three high schools. Students will attend the Academy half the day and their home high school the other half of the day. Students may continue to participate in sports, band, and extracurricular activities, and they will receive a diploma from their home school.
The Career Academy will offer 9 pathways in highdemand careers including Criminal Justice, Welding, Machine Tool Technology, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, IT and Cybersecurity, and Mechatronics. Students in most of these pathways will be dual-enrolled with Georgia Northwestern Technical College or Dalton State College. Dual enrollment is a significant
advantage for families because tuition, books, and fees are free. Students will graduate high school with college credit and technical college certificates prepared to enter the workforce or continue post-secondary education. In today’s job market, students who complete these pathways could enter the workforce when they graduate high school, making $35,000 a year or more.
The district piloted the Mechatronics Pathway with success in 2019 at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Catoosa Campus. GNTC has a state-of-the-art industrial systems technology lab at this campus, so Catoosa County Public Schools is not duplicating this lab. Four students completed two years in the pathway in 2021. In an internship program with a business partner, two students have been employed in their field for over a year, and they are earning $20 an hour at 19 years old.
In the Health Science and Teaching as a Profession pathways, students will dual enroll with Dalton State College to earn a Bachelor’s Degree. In the Health Science pathway, students will have the opportunity to earn the following certificates in addition to academic college credit: Certified Nursing Assistant, Patient Care Technician, Certified Clerical Medical Assistant, and Phlebotomy.
In addition to these 9 pathways, students who want to participate in academic dual enrollment with Dalton State College can attend the career academy’s virtual classroom so they don’t have to drive to Dalton, and the system will provide transportation to the Academy. With the opportunity to earn 30 hours of free college credit, students can potentially finish their first year of college. In Georgia, the average college tuition is $5,034 a year, so the opportunity to dual enroll in high school is a significant financial saving for families. In addition to the financial savings, 82% of students who participate in dual enrollment enroll in post-secondary education, compared
I have worked in Catoosa County Public schools since 2006. I have loved every position I’ve held, and I’ve felt blessed every year to be part of this great school system. It has been a great honor and privilege to serve as superintendent of schools this year. I have developed an even deeper appreciation for our students, employees, the board of education, business partners, and community members.”
to 62% of all high school graduates.
The pathways at the From HERE to CAREER Academy will not replace Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education (CTAE) classes in our high schools. The Academy pathways are based on high-demand careers in our region, and some will provide a “next-level” for students who participate in a career pathway at their home high school. Additionally, it would be cost-prohibitive to open these labs and pathways in all three high schools, so the Career Academy, in the center of the county, will provide an equitable opportunity for all Catoosa’s students to graduate College Ready, Career Ready, and Life Ready.
Opening the Career Academy represents a paradigm shift in the school system. The Board of Education surveyed stakeholders to develop a new strategic plan in 2021. It was very clear
from the survey responses that preparing students for life after high school was the highest priority. Stakeholders expect Catoosa County graduates to be College Ready, Career Ready, and Life Ready, so that is the district’s focus for the next five years. Parents and the Community will see a K-12 focus in career education: career exposure in elementary school, career exploration in middle school, and career experiences in high school.
In addition to career education, the stakeholder survey revealed that parents expect
the school system to provide financial literacy experiences and life-skills preparation. Through a partnership with the Junior Achievement Discovery Center in Dalton, our 6th and 7th grade students participate in Biztown and Finance Park simulation sessions. In Biztown, students learn to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for a mayor. In Finance Park, students participate in goal-setting, saving, budgeting, shopping, and bill-paying. These simulations are reinforced in 9th
Superintendent Chance Nix