GED® and ESL Orientation at Georgia Northwestern

 

GED® and ESL Orientation at Gordon County Campus
Adult Education at Georgia Northwestern Holds Introduction

Date: June 27 – 28

Time: 8:30 a.m. for day classes.
4:00 p.m. for night classes.

Sites: GNTC Adult Learning Center, Calhoun, Georgia

Contact:  Call 706.624.1111 for more information

 

 

(Calhoun, Georgia) – The Adult Education office at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Gordon County Campus (GCC) in Calhoun, Georgia is holding an orientation for the public. Learn what to expect if you choose to enroll in the college’s GED® preparatory classes or English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.

 

Free orientation sessions will be available on June 27 and 28 at the GCC’s Adult Learning Center. Stop by to learn about the classes and free resources that can help you prepare to take the GED® test in the future, as well as learn what the ESL coursework will provide to students. For more information on Adult Education at Georgia Northwestern Technical College, call 706.624.1111 or visit GNTC.edu>Adult Education.

 

The Adult Education program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College served 3,084 students and graduated 276 students with a GED® diploma in fiscal year 2015. The Adult Education program at GNTC serves students in nine counties with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties and off-campus learning centers in Ringgold, Summerville, Trenton, Rome, Fairmount, Cedartown, LaFayette, and Rossville.  Classes are also held in five different correctional facilities.

Since 1962, Georgia Northwestern Technical College has provided degrees, diplomas, and certificates in business, health, industrial, or public service career paths. This past year, 13,734 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 7,876 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 5,858 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.

 

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GNTC’s Kim Whitlock Earns First GED® Diploma GNTC’s Kim Whitlock Earns First GED® Diploma

Kim Whitlock (left) and Lisa McKinney (right) stand in front of the Fairmount Community Center. Whitlock was the first student to earn a GED® diploma from the Adult Education Center located inside the building and McKinney was her instructor.

Kim Whitlock recently became the first student to earn a GED® diploma through Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Adult Learning Center located in the Fairmount Community Center.

 

“It was an awesome feeling being the first one to graduate from here,” said Whitlock. “Knowing that I needed to do better, for my husband and my boys, was my main motivation to return to school.”

 

The classes in Fairmount were launched in fall 2014 to give easier access to residents on the eastern side of Gordon County. GNTC also offers adult education classes in Calhoun to Gordon County residents.

 

“It made everything a whole lot easier,” said Whitlock. “The Fairmount facility is just ten minutes away from me versus going to the Gordon County Campus in Calhoun.”

 

The classes in Fairmount came about because teachers in Gordon County started to realize that there was a lot of students with Fairmount addresses that would come to the Calhoun location to register, but were not able to complete the program.

 

As a result, GNTC instructors and administrators met with Harry Pierce, mayor of Fairmount, and city council members about setting up a local Adult Education program.

 

“They did everything we needed and offered us this space at the Community Center rent free,” said Lisa McKinney, adult education instructor at GNTC and instructor for the Fairmount Adult Learning Center. “The City of Fairmount and GNTC has really been a great partnership and we also have folks coming in from other places on this side of Gordon County.”

 

Whitlock plans to continue her education with Georgia Northwestern while working during the weekdays.

 

“I plan to take some online classes on nights and weekends and to get into the Medical Assisting program,” said Whitlock.

 

The Adult Education program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College served 3,084 students and graduated 276 students with a GED® diploma in Fiscal Year 2015. The Adult Education program at GNTC serves students in nine counties with campuses located in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties and off-campus learning centers in Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, and Walker counties. Classes are also held in five different Correctional facilities. GED® Testing Centers are located on campus in Floyd, Gordon, Walker, and Whitfield counties.

 

GNTC is an official General Educational Development® Testing Center and a site for computer-based GED® Testing in partnership with Pearson Vue, GED® Testing Services, and the Technical College System of Georgia. The mission of GNTC’s Adult Education program is to enable every adult learner in the service delivery area to acquire the necessary basic skills to be able to compete successfully in today’s workplace, strengthen family foundations, and exercise full citizenship.

 

Since 1962, Georgia Northwestern Technical College has been instrumental in providing quality workforce education to the citizens of Northwest Georgia. The mission of Georgia Northwestern Technical College is to provide accessible, high quality technical education and workforce development opportunities.  Serving the nine counties of Catoosa; Chattooga; Dade; Floyd; Gordon; Murray; Polk; Walker; and Whitfield, GNTC has five convenient campus locations in Floyd, Gordon, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield counties. With programs of study in business, health, industrial, and public service available, students have the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree, diploma, or a certificate from GNTC.  This past year, 14,562 people benefited from GNTC’s credit and noncredit programs. With an annual credit enrollment of 8,249 students, GNTC is the largest college in Northwest Georgia and the fifth largest technical college in the state of Georgia. GNTC has an additional enrollment of 6,313 people through adult education, continuing education, business and industry training, and Georgia Quick Start.

First GeorgiaBEST certificates presented to GNTC Adult Education students

Left to right, Pete McDonald, president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC); Cassie Rutledge of Summerville; Amber Danforth of Rome; Connie Smith, vice president of Adult Education at GNTC; and Commissioner Mark Butler

SUMMERVILLE– State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler today presented certificates to the first students to complete the GeorgiaBEST program at Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) Adult Education program. GeorgiaBEST (Businesss Ethics Student Training) is the Georgia Department of Labor’s (GDOL) workplace soft skills initiative.

The ceremony was held at the Chattooga County Adult Education Center in Summerville.

“I’m pleased to present these certificates to Amber Danford and Cassie Rutledge, who are the first to complete GeorgiaBEST through a program affiliated with a state technical college,” said Butler. “What they’ve achieved will definitely improve their opportunities for success in life. And, with our continuing affiliation with Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s Adult Education program, many more students from this region will also get the opportunity to use GeorgiaBEST to improve their outlooks for success.”

Butler launched GeorgiaBEST in 2012 after talking with employers throughout the state who said that the lack of soft skills was one of the major problems they faced when recruiting and keeping good employees. A 2012 article in Forbes Magazine refers to research by Leadership IQ, a research and leadership training company, which shows when first-time hires fail, 89 percent of the time it’s because of attitudinal reasons.

“We are so proud of these two students who were awarded GeorgiaBEST certificates,” said Connie Smith, vice president of Adult Education at GNTC. “They have demonstrated that they have the soft skills employers require to not only get a job, but to keep a job. With the increased emphasis on college and career readiness, our students now understand that they need more than just the GED diploma.”

Both students said the Oral and Written Business Communication Skills was a favorite among the GeorgiaBEST modules. “I didn’t give up and I didn’t give in,” declared Rutledge, of Summerville. “I gave it all I’ve got for GeorgiaBEST. One of the skills I learned was the ‘mock interview,’ which will help me be more confident when I go on interviews.”

Danford, of Rome, said, “I feel GeorgiaBEST has helped prepare me for a future job. It has given me skills, such as how to excel in a job interview, which will help me in my job search. I am very proud to have completed the GeorgiaBEST program.”

After its 2012 launch, GeorgiaBEST spread quickly and is now taught in more than 200 schools throughout the state. The GNTC Adult Education program became the first to implement it at the technical college level in September.

“We have integrated the GeorgiaBEST program at all of the Adult Education centers in our nine-county service delivery area,” Smith said. “More than 1,000 students have been exposed to this training since last fall and more students will earn their certificates in the weeks ahead. We are proud of this collaboration with the GDOL and our efforts to prepare students for college or the workplace.”

Students who participate in the program are evaluated by their teachers on their soft skills and, upon completion of the program, are awarded GeorgiaBEST certificates. The certification serves as validation to employers that students have successfully displayed strong work habits that will foster success in higher education and in the workplace.

Students earning the certificate must study and be assessed on 10 soft skill standards as set by the GDOL and participate in at least one of the required projects. Those soft skills, put together by the GDOL with input from business and industry, include discipline and character, attendance and punctuality, work habits, teamwork, time management, attitude, communications skills, responsibility, and organization.

Schools or others who may want more information about GeorgiaBEST, should contact Rebecca McGee, state program manager for GeorgiaBEST, at Rebecca.McGee@gdol.ga.gov or (404) 232-7300.

News media needing additional information should call the GDOL Office of Communications at (404) 232-3685, or Amber Jordan, GNTC’s director of marketing and public relations at (706) 295-6768 or ajordan@gntc.edu.