continued from page six to ….

continued from page

six to seven area schools to learn about reforestation and cruising timber, among other topics, and to engage in friendly competition.

He added that the School System’s Horticultural Class will open its greenhouse for sales during the last week of March. (Visit the Wheeler County FFA Facebook page for more information). Bateson said the FFA State convention is slated for April 24-26, where three students will be receiving their state degree, the highest FFA honor they receive in high school. The local FFA banquet is scheduled for May 8.

Career Fair and Dual Enrollment

Counselor Lori Adams updated the Board on the Career Fair held at the school on February 27. The event featured 36 participants, including 15-20 area colleges, all four branches of the military, local and area businesses and agencies including EMS, LOEMC, Georgia Power, Ryals Drug Store, the health department, GBI, and the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office.

Wood also talked about the System’s Dual Enrollment program. “When I came to the System as a counselor about five years ago, we had an average of about 20 students who were participating in dual enrollment. My goal was to up that number.” She said that this year, there are 31 students taking 81 classes.

Students have two different paths in dual enrollment: the traditional four-year college degree program with core studies; and technical schools, Wood explained. With the technical path, students can earn technical certificates of credit and can be ready for the workforce when they graduate from high school. “These are free classes,” Wood emphasized.

She presented data from research she conducted which compared the cost of higher education at schools in this area. At Brewton Parker Christian University, a private school, one class costs about $2,100; at Southeastern Technical College, one class costs $300; at Middle Georgia College, one class costs $522, and at Oconee Fall Line Technical College, one class costs $300. “We saved those students $102,000 just in tuition. That does not include all the fees we also saved them,” Wood said of the students in the Dual Enrollment program.

She shared success stories. “We had one student who completed the Certified Medical Assistant program and is now working at an elder care facility. One student completed the Emergency Medical Technician program, obtained an advanced EMT certification, and is now working at with the Toombs-Montgomery Emergency Medical Service. She plans to become a paramedic.” Wood said one student, who opted for the traditional college degree route, was able to enroll at Georgia Southern University as a sophomore when his hours earned through Dual Enrollment were calculated.

Pathway opportunities include agricultural, mechanics, forestry management, nutrition and wellness, business communication, early childhood, construction, Spanish and Band. “Students are required to take three classes in a pathway and some have to pass an exam to be certified in their area of study,” Wood said. “I am interested in adding a health pathway because it’s a huge need.” She said she also has several students interested in pursuing welding.

“Our biggest barrier is transportation because these classes are at STC (Vidalia). These are in-seat classes, and a lot of students have trouble traveling back and forth,” Wood said, noting she is exploring the possibility that STC can send adjunct faculty to Wheeler to mitigate this issue. She is also looking at avenues for enrolling 10th graders in CTAE courses.

Library and Literacy Project Kim Spencer, Director of the Ocmulgee Regional Library System, based in Eastman, enlightened the Board on the status of a project to establish a satellite library in Glenwood. Spencer, who is a member of a local committee to explore and facilitate the library project, said, “One of the things I have heard is that Wheeler County needs more access to the library.” The county is served by the Wheeler County Library in Alamo where Elaine Joyner is Librarian. Joyner is also a member of the Library and Literacy Project Committee, as are Karen Thompson, Community Engagement Librarian for the Oconee Regional Library System, and Melanie Knight, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning for the Wheeler School District.

The project is being carried out under a partnership between the Wheeler County Board of Education and the Ocmulgee Regional Library System.

The building selected as a site for the library was formerly a bank later deeded the City of Glenwood and which will be leased to the System.

Spencer said only minor renovations and investments are required to ready the structure for use as a library, including ADA-accommodations, shelving, repurposing computers, and collecting books. The estimate for operating the library, including staff, is $27,000 annually. “That is not a huge cost to operate a library,” Spencer said. She noted that the committee has applied for grants and will continue to look for grant opportunities. “We hope to have the library in place by this summer.”

The library will offer the Pines Library Access for Youth Student Library Card Program (PLAY), which is a digital service available for students of all ages. The service will be made available through a partnership with the School District and offers fines-free access to public library materials and online resources. PLAY is now serving 500,000 students in 300 PINES libraries across the state, with 53 school districts participating and 11 million items to check out.

The service is especially useful in rural areas where students may have difficulty in traveling to their local library, said Thompson, who made the presentation on the PLAY program to the Board.

Local residents who are interested in supporting the library project can take donations of books, board games, puzzles, and videos to the Wheeler County Library in downtown Alamo. These items will be stored at the Regional Library headquarters until the Glenwood library is opened. Painting Bid Approved

The Board approved a bid of $32,462 from Ware Paint and Drywall for painting a number of facilities at the football field, including the old gym, press box, concession stand, and goal posts so that the color scheme will extend the use of these facilities and match the completed refurbishments at the school baseball field.