Dougherty County School System holds “Level Up” graduation ceremony

ALBANY, Ga. – The Dougherty County School System commemorate the remarkable achievement of its students as they graduate from the “Level Up” program.

With a collaborative endeavor between Albany Tech, DCSS, and supported by a grant from Georgia Power, “Level Up” stands as a beacon of innovation. This program aims to reskill and upskill parents of DCSS students, providing them with invaluable opportunities for personal and professional growth.

“Georgia Power, they provide us with a grant, $3 million over four years. And, we identified several components that we wanted to lift up. And, one of those is our “Level Up” another level of family community engagement. A lot of the time when people think about family community engagement, they talk about sitting and notice at home, and keeping families informed of what we’re doing in the school system. That certainly is one part of engagement. But, we identify through our work with the Chamber and the EDC jobs that we leave on the table every year because we don’t have the skill workforce to fulfill some of those jobs. So, we say, what a wonderful opportunity to look at way of engagement by having the adult family members of our students level up their careers, by providing with a job skills training in a high demand career fields,” said Kenneth Dyer, Superintendent, Dougherty County School System (DCSS).

The first cohort of the heavy equipment operational training program concludes their journey with impressive achievements. Graduates are equipped with two valuable credentials and a $150 voucher to assist with essential supplies for their career transitions.

Kenneth Dyer, Dougherty County Schools Superintendent, emphasizes the transformative impact of empowering parents, recognizing their pivotal role in creating a supportive environment for student success.

“So, we really look at working not only with our students but with the entire family, because you can’t impact the family positively and not have an impact on students. So, we’re looking at it holistically and we think that’s what sets us apart in the Dougherty County School System. If we can create a more stable home environment for our students, it creates a better environment for them. They can come to school and not worry about some of the things they worry about when they’re not in a stable environment. So, if the parents are doing better at home, if they have a job that pays a living wage, that helps the students in terms of the environment they’re in, and they can come to school and focus on what’s important to them, which is the class work and things of that nature. By “leveling up”, only the adult family members, but also leveling up our level of engagement with families. They help support not only the students, but the entire household,” said Dyer.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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