ATLANTA – State Representative Steve Davis (R-McDonough), State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge and staff from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) will hold an Education Career Cluster Advisory meeting TOMORROW, November 30, at 4:00 PM at the Rockdale Career Academy, 1064 Culpepper Drive SW, in Conyers, Georgia. Tomorrow’s Career Cluster Advisory meeting is a direct result of House Bill 186, legislation sponsored by Rep. Davis that passed during the 2011 legislative session. The public is invited to attend this meeting in order to learn about the new Career Clusters/Pathways initiative.
“I want to thank Superintendent Barge and his staff for their quick implementation of this extremely important legislation,” said Rep. Davis. “Georgia students will be well served with these career clusters.”
In addition to the Career Clusters, HB 186 requires the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and the Board of Technical and Adult Education to develop course standards that ensure the core curriculum of all Georgia public high schools will be accepted at any institution of higher education in the state beginning with students entering high school in the fall of 2011. This coordination will ensure the readiness of students wanting to continue their education and lessen the need for remedial classes in Georgia colleges and technical schools.
Additionally, the legislation requires students on the Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education (CTAE) pathway to take academic core subject courses and pass end-of-course assessments. These assessments would allow CTAE students to receive credit upon demonstration of proficiency, rather than attendance of a mandatory number of classes. Each student’s proficiency would be graded based on a state wide plan to be developed by the State Board of Education, which will provide standard methods for recording demonstrated proficiency on high school transcripts.
Further, the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development is charged with establishing a certification in soft skills for students. Some of the areas included in the certification are punctuality, ability to learn, working as a team, reading for information, and applied mathematics. This soft skills certification will help students strengthen the life skills required for success in the workforce, while continuing to receive the standard education.
HB 186 was the culmination of work resulting from the GEM Act that Rep. Davis introduced during the 2009-2010 legislative session and the work of an education study committee. The GEM Act would have brought back the Technical Diploma, which the state is currently phasing out, while also adding personal finance classes.
For more information on HB 186, please click here.
Representative Steve Davis represents the citizens of District 109, which includes portions of Henry County. He was elected into the House of Representatives in 2004, and currently serves as the Chairman of the Information & Audits Committee and as the Secretary of the State Planning & Community Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Insurance, State Institutions & Property, and Transportation committees.
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