Jewell Moore speaks at STC Adult Education Centers

Reidsville
Jewell Moore was the guest speaker for a recent Lunch and Learn session held at the STC Adult Education Center in Reidsville. The event was hosted by the STC Adult Education Center in honor of National Literacy Month. Moore, a GED graduate, shared valuable advice with current adult education students. She has been on both sides of the GED, first as a student, then as a chief GED examiner. Moore’s theme was “Get it straight before 2008.”

“We must determine what we want for our future and take the necessary steps to accomplish our goals,” stressed Moore.

Her motivational words included a summary of her life beginning with childhood. She was the oldest of eight children in a limited income family. She realized the importance of an education and received her GED. Jewell raised a family, went to college and is now a business owner in Vidalia. She runs the Lighthouse Early Start Academy, and in addition, she and her husband oversee the Ekklesiastes Enterprise Ministry.

“Focus on your future and to never give up,” Moore urged the students.

For more information on the Reidsville or any other STC Adult Education Center please call either 538-3165 or 557-7769.

Glennville
The Glennville STC Adult Education Center recently hosted a Lunch and Learn luncheon in honor of National Literacy Month. Jewell Moore, owner of the Lighthouse Early Start Academies in Vidalia, was the guest speaker for this event.

Moore, a GED recipient and former chief GED examiner, spoke to an audience of GED students about the importance of setting goals and always looking forward to the future, which she refers to as Focus to Finish or F 2 F.

"Don't let any hardships or distractions on the side keep you from your goals," Moore stressed.

It takes perseverance and much determination she told the Adult Education students. Moore recounted coming from a low-income environment where she was the oldest of eight children. After several hardships, including teenage pregnancy, she realized she needed to rise above her situation and began to focus on her future. Raising her children and breaking the poverty cycle was her first hurdle. Pursuing her education would be the first road to make this happen. She studied for and passed her GED and then went on to technical school and then college.

"There were times I might have been tempted to quit if I didn't keep looking forward," Moore said.

Today she has accomplished many things in life and continues to set goals for herself. Jewell, along with her husband Willie oversees the Ekklesiastes Enterprise Ministries. Along with the ministry, she operates the learning academy which serves children from infants to school-age.

She closed by stressing how she could not have reached her goals without passing the GED and how important it was for them to obtain the GED. After, she completed her talk, the students were served lunch and given the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Moore and ask questions.

To enroll in a GED class in Glennville, please call the center at 654-5276 ext 4108.

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Career Academy Charter Signed and Submitted to State School Board
Southeastern Tech, Toombs County and Vidalia Collaborative Education Venture is Underway

After diligent work with the community and local school boards, Southeastern Technical College welcomed aboard Toombs County Schools and Vidalia City Schools as they all signed a charter petition to establish Southeastern Early College and Career Academy.

“This collaborative education venture is certain to benefit high school students, economic development and our community as a whole for years to come,” said Dr. Cathy Meehan, Southeastern Technical College President. “I commend the Toombs County Board of Education and Vidalia City Board of Education for participating in this collaborative effort. Their expertise and support will make an enormous impact on the success of the career academy.”

“This is a great day for our community and local economic development when three school systems can sit down together and work as partners,” said Dr. Tim Smith, Vidalia City Schools Superintendent. “We are excited that potentially two more schools systems may participate in the Career Academy. Montgomery and Treutlen counties are talking seriously about coming on board.”

The career academy will operate according to the terms of the signed charter and will be held accountable for meeting the performance-based objectives specified in the charter, which will serve as a binding contract. The charter was submitted to Georgia’s State Board of Education last week. The new school will serve students from both districts on the college campus, who will take a mixture of academic and career/technical courses, all of which will count toward their high school diplomas, and some of which will also earn college credit. In fact, career academy students may earn enough credit to be awarded post-secondary diplomas/degrees as well as their high school diplomas. There will be no cost to students or their parents for college credit courses.

“A career academy at STC is a milestone on the road to offering the children of our area hope of a good job and a successful life,” said Honorable Tommie Williams (GA SS 06), Georgia State Senate Majority Leader.
Southeastern Technical College plans to allocate funds to create this unique learning model. Additionally, the college has also applied for one of the five $3.2 million state grants that would be applied to capital funding for the career academy. While the career academy classes will begin next fall at Southeastern Tech, building a new facility to enhance this specific type of learning could begin within a year.

“We appreciate the citizens coming together to open new horizons for the benefit of our students,” said Dr. Kendall Brantley, Toombs County School Superintendent. “The partnership will optimize the cost of running these expensive technical programs which in turn is wise management of the taxpayers’ dollars.”

“Southeastern Early College and Career Academy is the first partnership in Georgia that will teach students from more than one school district at a regional career academy that is also a charter school,” said Russ Moore, Southeastern Tech Consultant. “Of the 180 school districts in Georgia, the two districts in Toombs County have just made education history.”

Currently, Southeastern Technical College partners with the four regional high schools in “stay in school” initiatives such as dual enrollment, Tech Prep, Careers in School and the Summer Educator Academy for teachers to name a few. Although improvements have been made in the region’s dropout rate, still more than a third of the population Southeastern Tech serves does not have a high school diploma or GED; less than 15 per cent of high school graduates complete a post-secondary degree.

“Once other surrounding school districts see the career academy’s accomplishments, we expect they will be ready to participate,” said Meehan. “We will certainly keep the lines of communication open with other districts and share all of our progress with the community.”

“The collaboration between Southeastern Tech, the Vidalia City and Toombs County Boards of Education demonstrates a dynamic, modern focus on the education needs of the area’s children,” said Ron Jackson, Department of Adult and Technical Education Commissioner. “I applaud the entire community for their concerted effort to improve student learning opportunities through the development of innovative educational settings like charter schools and career academies. Such progressive actions were the intent of Governor Perdue, Lt. Governor Cagle and the members of our General Assembly when they supported legislation and provided funding for these important programs.”

The next step is for the Technical College System of Georgia to consider the local career academy grant application along with 18 others that have been received from school systems statewide. Five systems will be selected to receive grants of up to $3.2 million each. If any of the grants are awarded for less than $3.2 million, then consideration will be given to additional career academy applications.

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Southeastern Tech Congratulates Graduates

Southeastern Technical College congratulated its graduates at the fall commencement ceremony on October 4, 2007. Southeastern Tech President Dr. Cathy Meehan and graduation speaker Lisa Adams, Oxford Industries Manager and Southeastern Technical College Board of Directors Chair are pictured above.

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Southeastern Tech Intramural Bowling League Scores Big

Debbie O’Neal, STC Medical Transcription Student, stands ready to knock some pins down for her team.

The rolling of a ball down the wooden lane. Pins falling down everywhere … Strike! Split! Turkey! Spare! And, then, my personal favorite, the rolling ball down the wooden lane followed by the words, Gutter Ball and then immense laughter erupting throughout the lanes!

Despite the variable skill levels, everyone participating in the Summer Quarter Southeastern Technical College (STC) Intramural Co-ed Bowling Tournament had a fun experience. The eight-team league met weekly during the college’s summer quarter.

“The teams comprised of students and several STC faculty/staff played in the double elimination tournament with enthusiasm and pride,” said Lance Helms, STC Director of Career Services and intramural sports coordinator. “It turned out to be very competitive near the end of the tournament which made it all the more fun for everyone.”

The Computer Information Systems (CIS) team walked away the tournament champions. Bowling 162 made Marcia Batchelor the female high scorer and 172 won Robert Shaw the male high scorer title.

“We are glad our students participated in the intramural event and hope more become involved each quarter as we offer different sports,” said Helms. “For more information on the intramural sports program at Southeastern Tech, please call 912.538.3207.”

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Southeastern Tech Names Rebecca Ethredge Financial Aid Director

Southeastern Technical College (STC) in Vidalia has named Rebecca Ethredge as the Director of Financial Aid.

“Rebecca’s diverse background and enthusiasm for her work makes her a perfect fit for Southeastern Tech” said Barry Dotson, STC Executive Vice President. “We will continue to provide outstanding customer service to every single STC student with Rebecca’s guidance and determination for success.”

Ethredge received her Bachelor of Science in Biology at Georgia Southern University in 2000. She has worked in public education at Wheeler County and Dodge County school systems and in public health with South Central Health District.

“Southeastern Tech is an active campus and I jumped into action on day one,” said Ethredge. “Working with the students to provide the highest quality service we can to better enhance their educational experience takes a team effort and I am excited to be leading the charge. Fall quarter began this week and I am thrilled to have provided our students with financial aid guidance and assistance they need to begin their advanced education endeavors.”

Ethredge and husband Pat reside in Ailey. They have one son, Towns (5) and are expecting their second child in December.

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Windstream Donates $1000 to Southeastern Tech’s Glennville Campus

Daniel Heaton of Windstream presents $1000 to Southeastern Technical College’s Glennville Campus. Dr. Cathy Meehan, STC President, and Charla Nail, STC Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness, accept the generous donation.

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STC Instructor Bee Hart Named Rick Perkins Southeast Consortium Winner

Bee Hart, a Math Instructor in the General Education Department at Southeastern Technical College, was named the Southeast Consortium’s Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year.

Hart was chosen as the Consortium Winner after a rigorous interview process. Once selected as the Rick Perkins Award winner at Southeastern Technical College, he then competed against other instructors from across the region.

“The Technical College System of Georgia is honored to have Bee Hart as our Southeast Consortium winner of the 2007 Rick Perkins Award,” said Ron Jackson, Commissioner of the Department of Adult and Technical Education (DTAE). “He has a deep passion for teaching and is dedicated to providing the very best education experience for his students. Mr. Hart is a valuable asset to the college, his community, and, most of all, to each and every student who learns from him. I congratulate him on his award and thank him for his outstanding commitment to technical education.”

The Rick Perkins Award, formerly known as the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence, was established to recognize and honor an outstanding Instructor of the Year. This prestigious award recognizes instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through instructional excellence, outstanding leadership qualities, and dedication to the mission of the Department of Technical and Adult Education.

“Being chosen as Instructor of the Year at Southeastern Tech and representing the faculty of STC at the regional level was a great honor. I was proud to win on the regional level because it was important to me that others see what a talented and committed group of faculty support our college and community,” said Hart. “The Technical Education instructors in Georgia are an impressive group and it has been an honor and a privilege to interact and learn from them.”

Hart received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, his master’s degree from Georgia Southern University and is currently working on his doctorate in education administration through Georgia Southern University. He and his wife Aimee reside in Vidalia and they are expecting their first child in November.

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