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November 6, DTAE Commissioner Dr. Kenneth Breeden became the first state
official to win the Georgia Excellence in Public Service Award presented
by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government
in partnership with Georgia Trend magazine. Dr. Breeden was recognized
as the top public servant in the state on the cover of the December 2003
issue of Georgia Trend.
Dr. Breeden was honored for his numerous achievements serving the people of Georgia. Since 1984, he has devoted himself to improving technical education in Georgia, first as executive director of the State Board of Postsecondary Vocational Education and then as the first commissioner of the Department of Technical and Adult Education. Under his leadership, Georgia’s Technical College System has experienced remarkable growth, setting enrollment records each quarter for the past 12 years.
In the profile
of Dr. Breeden, Georgia Trend noted that, “Few in Georgia
have watched [the] evolution in job skill demands as closely as Dr. Kenneth
Breeden, and none have shaped the state’s response more dramatically.”
BRIDGING
the Language
Gap
ith
the opening of its new English Language Institute, Gwinnett Technical
College tripled its capacity to address the demand for courses in English
as a Second Language (ESL). The opening of the new facility makes the
ESL program at Gwinnett Tech the sixth largest in the nation.
Funded through the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Institute is projected to serve 5,000 students each year, the majority of whom are Hispanic and Asian.
“ESL is so closely tied to economic development because it helps create a skilled workforce for local business and industry,” says Sharon Rigsby, president of Gwinnett Technical College. The new English Language Institute offers 70 class sections in 10-week sessions taught by more than 50 adjunct faculty.
“Gwinnett Technical College has one of the largest,
one of the best, and one of the most efficient ESL programs in the state,”
said Dr. Jean DeVard-Kemp, assistant commissioner, Adult Literacy Programs,
at the dedication of the new facility.
‘LIGHTING
OUT FOR
THE TERRITORIES’
ast
summer, 11 Hispanic students from Habersham Central High School enjoyed
a classic, all-American, Huck Finn experience, thanks in part to financial
and technical support from North Georgia Technical College. On a refurbished
pontoon boat christened the Chattahoochee Queen, the students cruised
down the Chattahoochee River, seeing Georgia the Mark Twain way.
It all started as the inspiration of Habersham Central High School ESOL teacher Suany Latty, who dreamed up the project as a way to increase Hispanic student retention. After she and her husband, Dale, purchased an engine and pontoon boat from a local church, they coordinated the project with help from North Georgia Tech President Dr. Ruth Nichols, who provided funds from a Technical Education Improvement and Innovation Project grant, and two North Georgia Tech instructors.
While working on the boat, the students learned a number of technical skills. “I showed them how to do some quick checks and troubleshooting,” says Morris Harrison, an engine repairs instructor at North Georgia Tech. Welding instructor Ronnie Ayers helped the students build a frame for the boat’s canopy.
Dale
Latty told The Northeast Georgian in an article that appeared
in the newspaper last summer that the experience was incredibly rewarding.
“Five or six of these kids had never seen the ocean before,”
he said. During the week-long trip, the students visited many sites along
the river, including Ft. Benning, the Coca-Cola Space Science Center,
Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park and the Jimmy Carter National Historic
Site.
| Hoop Fever |
“To get nationally ranked in 2 1/2 years is quite an accomplishment,” notes head coach Chris Wade about the three-year-old team. “We’ve been able to get this far because of the tremendous support from the school and the community.” South
Georgia Tech is the only college As
of early February, the Jets had a |
he
Jets of South Georgia Tech are proving that technical college students
definitely got game. After beating three nationally ranked teams
in the National Junior College Athletic Association, the team from
Americus — currently the only one in Georgia’s Technical
College System — found themselves sitting comfortably at No.
14 in the country among other junior and technical colleges.
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