Walker Launch Expands Dual Enrollment Pathways
By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor
Photo by Lydia Berglar – Billy Brown, GNTC instructor, works with Dade County High School as an adjunct to lead dual enrollment welding classes. Pictured here on January 11th, a student in his class practices grinding.
Walker County Schools received a $3 million Georgia College and Career Academy Project (GCCAP) grant to expand dual enrollment options through the Walker Launch program, and cross-district collaboration means that Dade County Schools will also benefit from the updates.
Damon Raines (Walker County Schools superintendent) explained that the vision for dual enrollment options began in 2017. Adjunct teachers from Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC) already taught at both of the Walker high schools (Ridgeland and LaFayette), but the district wanted to offer more hands-on experiences.
At the time, GNTC’s 500 building in Rock Spring was only used for two classes, and the schools saw an opportunity to better utilize the building. In fall 2018, the first Walker Launch cohort traveled to the building Mondays through Thursdays to take classes in subjects like logistics, cosmetology, HVAC, diesel mechanics, and welding. Still enrolled in high school, Launch students have Fridays dedicated to high school courses.
Raines noted that Walker County Schools began pursuing the GCCAP grant about a year and a half ago, not expecting to receive it. They were pleasantly surprised to land in the top four and qualify to give a presentation about their goals.
Raines said that local businesses and industries expressed a need for workers trained in skilled trades. He spoke with Josh Ingle (Dade County Schools superintendent) to confirm that Dade had similar needs. This helped inform the plan for the grant.
The first phase of the plan is a mechatronics lab expansion at the 500 building. (Walker County Schools currently have a long-term lease with the goal of purchasing the building from the state.) The district also received an economic development grant and Georgia Power grant to help with this lab.
The second phase covers hospitality. Raines explained that McLemore Club on Lookout Mountain will be looking for 75-100 employees in the hospitality field as they expand. “That’s really where the Dade County connection started to make sense,” Raines said.
The GNTC 500 building has a kitchen, but the GCCAP grant will allow the district to remodel and improve the facility, allowing students to graduate with a certificate through the program.
GNTC’s adult education classes will also utilize the improved spaces, and along with the physical improvements, Walker is developing four new pathways.
While GCCAP grants are typically awarded for building projects in districts that do not have a Georgia technical college, Walker received it for remodeling projects. Raines believes that this is in part because of the cross-district collaboration. Raines reported that Walker has also reached out to Chattooga County Schools, Trion City Schools, and Chickamauga City Schools so that all neighboring Georgia high schools have the option to benefit from the 500 building and added pathways.
Ingle and Raines explained that the districts are continuing to make plans for how Dade students can join Walker’s program, realizing that the distance is inconvenient. Dade County High School already has a mechatronics lab, offers dual enrollment welding, and has a health occupations pathway, but Ingle said, “For any additional programs not offered at our campus that are offered at Launch, we’ll figure out a way to bus interested students over there.”
Regarding the importance of these dual enrollment options, Julie Portwood (Walker Launch Coordinator) noted the economic advantage of going directly into a skilled trade. She reported that welding in particular is popular among students, but there is still high demand for welders in the field. She reported that one 2023 graduate is making $28 per hour as a welder at just 18-years-old (with no student loans) after going through Walker Launch.
Photo by Lydia Berglar – Two DCHS students in Brown’s class work in a welding booth together.
Portwood said, “The beauty of what the state has offered is that all of these programs are free to our students because they go to a Georgia public high school.” Georgia high school students can take 30 dual enrollment credits for free, which allows them to test out potential careers with hands-on experience before spending extensive time and money on further education.
Portwood has examples of students who thought they knew exactly what career to pursue, but hands-on experience through Launch changed their minds and they found other options that they preferred more. “Some students just haven’t met their passion,” she said. “Research shows that students just need one thing to connect to [at school in order to succeed]. Some students are willing to ‘suffer through’ the core classes because we’re giving them hands-on training.”
Ingle and Raines both noted that the districts will continue to encourage students who desire to pursue four-year universities in their academic journey, but they are excited to offer options for students who do not want to take a heavily academic route. Some students are not connecting through academic courses or through extracurriculars like athletics or marching band, so CTAE (Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education) and dual enrollment pathways offer another way to keep these students engaged and moving toward life and career after high school.
Ingle said, “It’s about offering multiple options and capturing the attention of kids who are ready to go to work.”
Raines reported that Walker County Schools’ graduation rate has increased from 70 percent to 92 percent in his time with the district. He said that in part because of CTAE and Launch pathways, “Students can see that they can break the cycle for themselves and be a productive member of society and live a good life.”
