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CENTRAL EDUCATIONAL CENTER - Charter High School in Georgia Prepares Future Leaders for Future Demands (reprinted from The Achiever, USDOE, June 1, 2004)
By Maggie Riechers

In 1997, the manager of a manufacturing plant in Coweta County, Ga., told the superintendent of schools that he couldn't hire the products of the district's educational system. The plant manager complained that young employees exhibited little "work ethic." They did not show up for the job on time, had poor attitudes and even had trouble reading simple instructions and calculating simple math problems. The superintendent took him seriously. He immediately set in motion a study group to outline the problems and develop solutions. One thing became clear: Standards needed to be raised.

Three years later, the Central Educational Center (CEC) was born. This school with an ordinary name started producing extraordinary students. They were talented enough to convince the area's largest employer, Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Corporation, which was considering relocating, to stay in Coweta County.

CEC, a publicly funded charter school, draws students from the three county high schools and integrates an academic education with state-of-the-art technology and career classes. Students remain enrolled in the required academic classes at their "base" public high school while taking specialized courses at CEC, which are not offered at other schools in the county. A key element is that CEC is also a campus of West Central Technical College and offers college-level courses.

"CEC exists because a changing global economy demands a knowledge-based and skill-based workforce," says Russ Moore, chief executive officer (CEO) of CEC. The school was recently named a national Model High School by a consortium of professional education organizations.

CEC's student body represents a cross section of academic skills and performance, from high achievers to those with special needs. Ninety-eight percent of CEC’s dual-enrollment graduates go on to two- or four-year colleges, many having already earned technical certificates, or enter the workforce already trained in specific jobs.

"The school seamlessly weaves together secondary and postsecondary education and training with the needs of business and industry," says Moore.

CEC is set up on a business model. As such, Moore is the CEO, not the principal; teachers are directors; and students are team members. There is strict enforcement of attendance and tardiness rules. Every student gets a course grade and a work-ethic grade. The school offers students a range of courses from welding to 3-D computer animation. Computer technology, whether learning to repair computers or set up a network, is a major field of study, as is health care with classes in medical technology and patient care.

Christina Diamond, 18, is a CEC senior taking college-level classes through West Central Technical College. She will attend Southern Polytechnic State University this fall, majoring in architecture. She says the classes she took at CEC—such as pre-engineering, information technology and computer-aided drafting (CAD)—will prepare her for next year.

"The environment here is so much more mature than in regular high school," says Diamond. "Classes are smaller and you get more attention. And, the classes are real hands-on."

Based on her experience as a CEC graduate and her second year as an architecture major at Georgia Tech, Jessica Jackson verifies what Diamond says. Jackson believes her drafting and CAD classes at CEC put her a step ahead of her peers. "It gave me the skills I needed," she says.

Essential to CEC's success are the nearly 200 local businesses that provide work-based opportunities for students. These include Yamaha, which also gave the school $40,000 to build a pre-engineering lab; the William L. Bonnell Company, an aluminum extrusion plant; and Newnan Hospital.

The school relies on local businesses to help determine its courses. "We have advisory boards in each major field," says CEO Moore. "Industry representatives come in, see what we're teaching, then advise us."

For example, in the construction field the advisory board consists of a member of Habitat for Humanity, a local manufacturer, the president of a local commercial construction company and a developer. In the health care field there are representatives from hospitals and nursing homes.

CEC has caught the eye of educators around the county. In March 2004, on a visit to CEC, Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education Susan Sclafani toured the school and said its model is one that should be replicated around the country. "We believe very strongly in what you're doing," she told Coweta County school officials.

"We're thinking others could benefit from the model you've created here."

For more information about CEC, call 678-423-2000.