Wheeler Wins Initiative; Celebrates Student Achievement

Photos Courtesy of Wheeler County School District

Students, parents, school staff and community members packed the room at the Wheeler County Board of Education’s March 10 meeting as the School System continued its “Wheeler Wins” initiative launched in January by new School Superintendent Dr. C. Alex Alvarez.

The Board also received an update on the plans for a literacy and library project in Glenwood and got some good news on Wheeler’s dual enrollment program.

The meeting location was moved from the Board offices to the Community Center in Alamo to accommodate the anticipated crowd, and the session kicked off with recognition of students who are excelling in the classroom, in the sports arena, and in academic and skills competitions. Among elementary through high school level students being recognized: the 2024-25 Bulldog Football Team award recipients; FCCLA competition winners; FFA/4H Hog Show achievers; and RESA Art & Writing Contest champions.

Family, Career, and

Community Leaders of America

FCCLA competition winners were introduced by Ginger Horne, FCCLA advisor, who told the audience that these students participated in STAR (Students Taking Action with Recognition) and are eligible to compete on regional, state and national levels.

The students include Isabell Sellers and Zoey Vann, who earned first place in regional trials for their team effort, “Event Management,” and will compete on the state level. Also advancing to state competition is Kaylee Rojas, who won first place in “Job Interview;” Jacob Tarpley, who placed first in “Teach or Train;” and the team of Allison Haymons and Alexis Ricks, who won first place at region for their “Repurpose and Redesign” project.

Accompanying the group to state competition will be Jardirra Randolph, “Entrepreneurship,” and Keimyah Wilcox, “Sports Nutrition,” who ranked in the top five in regional competition.

FFA/4-H Hog Show

Coach Bryant Oliver introduced FFA/4-H Hog Show winners and informed those in attendance about his program’s mission and student achievements. Before he introduced five young ladies who earned honors in recent events, Oliver noted that currently there are more females who are involved in livestock projects than males, and there are now as many females in Future Farmers of America as males. “FFA is not just for boys anymore,” he said.

Oliver continued, “Livestock shows are one of the avenues we use in FFA to teach kids about life skills. These kids may never work on a hog farm or raise hogs again in their lives, but they will learn skills that will help them in life in general.”

Oliver explained that raising and showing livestock requires commitment. “These girls purchased their pigs in September and take care of them for the next five months (until showtime). It’s a long process.” So far, the girls participated in seven shows from December through February. Two of these shows, including the Bulldog Classic, were held at the School District’s new agricultural facility. The invitational show featured 60 animals and exhibitors from seven different counties. A local show on February 15 featured 13 exhibitors and 28 animals.

Additionally, Ag and Industrial Arts students are engaged in building a pig barn/equipment barn. “The kids will do all the labor. It’s a great opportunity for them to learn and develop skills in construction,” Oliver noted.

Recognized during the BOE meeting was Anna Beth Ethredge, a high school junior and FFA officer who earned Grand and Reserve Champion Pig, and first place in Senior Showmanship, and first in recordkeeping at the local show. She also placed third and sixth in the state.

Kaitlyn Morgan, first year exhibitor, placed first in showmanship in the local show, and fifth in her class at state competition with her Duroc barrow. Remi Bateson, a second grader, won first place in the novice class and third and fourth place in her weight class at a local show. “When kids of this age get involved with this program, they stay with us all the way through high school, “Oliver said, noting that Bateson is not yet old enough to compete on the state level, but he has great hopes for her in the future.

Sisters Zoey and Layla Vann breed and raise hogs on their father’s farm, so they get the experience of raising and caring for livestock for the long term. “Zoey was our only first place winner at state, getting top accolades with her gilt and going on to be third overall in her division,” Oliver said. He noted, at a state show 1500 pigs are entered into competition. “She went back for Grand Champion honors with her class win in gilt. She was fourth overall in the local market hog show,” Oliver said. Her sister, Layla, had the highest-placing Duroc barrow in the Georgia Bred Show.

Instructor and FFA advisor Les Bateson enlightened those in attendance about projects and events coming up in his department. Ag and Industrial Arts students have studied and competed in projects involving employability skills, public speaking, environmental resources, and wildlife. After competing in area events, they moved on to state level and had several top 10 and top 5 teams in the state. Bateson noted that plans are underway for Forestry Field Day on April 19 which will be hosted by Wheeler County. The event will bring together some 200 to 300 middle and high school students from 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.