$3 million grant provided to DCSS from Georgia Power to enhance education equity efforts

Superintendent Kenneth Dyer said that the partnership allows for a new take on long-established district priorities.

ALBANY, Ga. – The Dougherty County School System will “tap” into Georgia Power for three quarters of a million dollars that will not only impact students and staff, but parents and families as well.

Dougherty County is one of the four districts to receive this grant along with Clayton County Schools, Richmond County Schools and Savannah-Chatham Schools. Dougherty County School Superintendent Kenneth Dyer says this funding will help with 2 significant initiatives.

“One is to increase our work-based learning opportunities for our students through paid internships and job skilled training. And second it provides with the opportunity to provide up-skilling and re-skilling of our students adult family members.” said Dyer.

The $3 million investment is set to address specific needs within the Dougherty County School System, while also helping high school graduates with landing a good paying job.

“If you’re looking to go into the work force in a specific career field, then the relevance will be job skills training in that particular career field to help advance you towards your goal. And so we believe that this opportunity will provide job skills training for our students who are looking to go directly into the world of work after high school.” said Dyer.

The school systems career, technical, and agricultural education pathway known as CTAE offers job-skills training. Now coupled with the funding from Georgia Power, the program can now expand.

“This program or this initiative takes that a step further. This program will end with students having integer recognized credentials in those particular career fields to help prepare them to enter the work force directly after high school if that’s what they choose to do.” said Dyer.

Dyer adds that he is immensely grateful and eager to put the funding to work. He predicts it’s impact going beyond the classroom.

” What’s different about this opportunity with the school system is we also get an opportunity to impact the families; the adult family members with job skills training as well in partnership with Albany Tech. So it will help enhance the talent pipeline that’s so critically needed for economic development in our area…” said Dyer.

Georgia Power says they are, “…committed to improving and strengthening education in undeserved communities to help students of all ages build brighter futures.”