On Thursday, October 25, members of the Southeastern Early College and Career Academy (SECCA) Board of Directors held a luncheon meeting with Dr. Lynn Plunkett who will lead the academy staff and board through the accreditation process between now and January 2019. Dr. Plunkett explained the evaluation criteria and documentation required for meeting State standards. A team will be on-site January 14-16 to conduct the assessment for accreditation, and members of the team will come from the Technical College System of Georgia, the Georgia Department of Education, the Charter Schools Division, and other career academies across the state.

Pictured are back row, left to right: Dr. Tim Smith, former Vidalia superintendent; Hugh Kight, Montgomery County Superintendent; Henry Price, SECCA Board Chair and member of the Montgomery County Board of Education; David Avery, SECCA High School Director; Dr. Garrett Wilcox, Superintendent Vidalia City Schools; Dr. Brad Anderson, Superintendent Treutlen County Schools; Fred Godbee, SECCA Board member; Don Betts, SECCA Board member.
Front row: Shelly Smith, SECCA CEO; Dr. Lynn Plunkett, Georgia Department of Education.

On Thursday, September 27, students from Toombs County High School, Treutlen High School, and Vidalia High School visited Georgia Southern University for Future Georgia Educators (FGE) Day hosted at the Nessmith Lane Conference Center on the Statesboro Campus.

During the event, students were provided with various opportunities to learn about the teaching profession. Georgia Southern College of Education faculty and students presented workshop sessions on topics such as assistive technology for special education, school counseling, math education, language and cultural diversity in the classroom, and various teaching technologies that enhance classroom learning.

FGE Day is an initiative that is coordinated by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE) in conjunction with colleges of education in Georgia institutions to provide professional learning, networking and college visitation for students who are considering teaching as a profession.

The Thunderbolts JROTC Regiment, which consists of students from Vidalia High School, Montgomery County High School, Toombs County High School, and Treutlen High School, hosted a Raider competition on September 8, 2018. The event had 22 teams representing 11 different high schools.

The Raider Competition consists of the following five events: three mile run, Cross Country Rescue Course (CCR), one Rope Bridge, tire flip and fitness challenge. All teams must complete all five events. The Thunderbolt Raider Team A placed second in the mixed category, and Team B placed 6th.

Mixed Category:
1st place- Bryan County JROTC, Pembroke, GA
2nd place - Thunderbolts JROTC, Vidalia, GA
3rd place - Statesboro JROTC, Statesboro, GA

At the Lt. Governor's 11th Annual Business and Education Summit, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle announced that Brooke Morris of Southeastern Early College and Career Academy (SECCA) was the winner of the Lt. Governor's 2018 Student Leadership Award. The award is presented to one exceptional College and Career Academy student for outstanding accomplishments. Georgia's College and Career Academies (CCAs) offer students endless opportunities to further their careers and educational pursuits. The students selected as nominees for this prestigious award represent highly-motivated individuals who are actively engaged in their communities. Attending the event on August 27th in Albany, Georgia with her parents and former TAP teacher, Sabrina Campbell, Brooke accepted the award. She completed the Teaching as a Profession Pathway (TAP) through SECCA and is continuing her education at the University of Georgia.

Pictured left to right: Melinda Morris, Rodney Morris, Brooke Morris, Sabrina Campbell, and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle

During the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education Summer Conference, DOT Foods of Vidalia received the 2018 Business Partner of the Year Award for the Southeast Region. The conference was held in July, 2018 in Athens, Georgia. Mr. Robert Hadden, Operations Manager at DOT Foods, was presented the award along with Mr. Eric McDonald, Vidalia High School CTAE Director, Donna Collins, Work-Based Learning Coordinator for Vidalia High School, and Peggy Snow, Work-Based Learning Coordinator for Toombs County High School. Mr. Hadden plans to continue providing high school students with on the job training and future career opportunities at DOT Foods. Tim Truxel, DOT Foods Plant Manager, has spearheaded the partnership for three years and is very supportive of the program. Mrs. Collins stated, “It is partnerships like the one between the school systems and DOT Foods that allow our students the opportunity to learn work-ready skills while still in high school. I cannot say enough good things about DOT Foods.” Mr. McDonald expressed the importance of WBL and encourages other local businesses to become partners in the program.