of an adjustment to school, a lot of socialization, a lot of exploratory learning. Now we’re getting very deliberate with phonemic awareness, even at that four year old level, because research shows there’s a window birth to five that you really can max out on in terms of language acquisition,” he explains. In addition, the district is reaching out to families of children from birth to four years old, inviting them into schools to model reading and speaking activities. “We want you to come into the building. We want to model reading and speaking and different things with the goal of changing the literacy capacity for not only our school students, but for our community. And we’ve seen a lot of momentum,” Dr. Longgrear adds. BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES The district’s commitment to preparing students for the workforce can be seen in its collaboration with local and regional employers. The construction of the Metter College and Career Academy serves as a prime example. Currently under development, this 32,000-square-foot facility will provide students with state-of-the-art labs for construction, agricultural mechanics, and healthcare science. Dr. Longgrear remarks, “I cannot say enough about our partnership with Candler County Hospital and what they do for us, having representation on our college and career academy board, and the opportunities they give our students to get some real world experience.” Notably, several local businesses have hired students to work on the construction of the academy itself, providing them with valuable hands-on experience. “For a number of years, we’ve had good relationships with employers within our community, and that’s being exhibited because we have several students that are employed by local businesses that are participatory in the construction of this new Metter College and Career Academy building,” depicts Dr. Dollar. He expresses the district’s gratitude for the 326 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 11
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