Chattooga CTAE Students Recognized for Achievements in State Competitions

Chattooga High School and middles schools are focused on providing students with support in Architecture, Construction, Arts, Audio/Visual Technology, Communication, Human Services, Transportation, Distribution and Logistics, Health Science and Manufacturing. CTAE includes career pathways, college credit, work-based learning and student organizations. CTAE stands for Career Technical Agriculture Education.

Several Chattooga County CTAE students were recognized for their achievements in state competitions at the May Board of Education meeting.

There are 14 different career pathways offered at Chattooga High School and district middle schools, with plans to expand next fall to include Law and Public Safety. There are 16 Dual-Enrollment classes offered at Chattooga High School and, last year alone, Chattooga CTAE students worked over 20,000 documented hours, earning over $151,000.

A huge part of the program lies within support from the community. Chattooga’s CTAE has work sites in over 20 local businesses and are continuously working to recruit additional companies to open their doors to CTAE internships. Mohawk Industries is just one of the businesses that have partnered to create an apprenticeship program for CHS students age 17 or older.  Students are allowed to work up to 29 hours per week and earn a competitive starting wage. Students work from 2pm to 6pm Tuesday through Friday and from 8am to 4pm on Monday.

During the 2017-18 school year, dozens of CTAE students have been recognized at the state level for various accomplishments.

“CTAE is the heart of our school; we serve CTAE in grades 6-12. We are not only concerned with if students graduate high school, but what they are going to be prepared for the day after [graduation],” CTAE Director, Dr. Emily Mobbs said.

Chattooga’s Future Farmers of America students recently submitted their Supervised Agriculture Experience Projects for Region judging. Students who submitted included:

Madison Christol’s project was in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Management. She won 1st place in Area and went on to place 2nd in the State. Christol is a senior at CHS who will be attending the University of Georgia in the Fall.

Mia Crider’s project was in Agri-science Plant Systems. Crider placed 2nd in Region and 3rd in State. Crider is a sophomore at CHS.

Jorja Cooper’s project was in Diary Science. She placed 2nd at Region. Jorja is a junior at CHS.

“Chattooga High CTAE offers many career pathways, I’m happy that many students in our pathway chose to take advantage of these career exploratory experiences and not only walk away with Regional and State titles but with real-world experience,” Chattooga FFA Instructor David Yarbrough said.

Career Development Event Winners

Meagan Perry participated in the Prepared Public Speaking CDE this Spring and won the Sub-area and Area contests, advancing to the State Competition. Perry was named a State Finalist of only 12 students in the state. Perry is a senior at CHS who will be attending the University of Georgia in the Fall. She also recently was awarded the Gates Scholarship.

William Elrod, an 8th grader at Lyerly School, competed in the Poultry Evaluation CDE and and was the 1st place scoring individual at the area contest. Elrod competed against 112 other members.

Middle School CTAE students who submitted record books for area judging:

Rylee Wells, from Summerville Middle School, was an area winner and a State Finalist

Emma Rae Ward, from Lyerly School, and Gracie Treadaway from Summerville Middle School were both judged in the Livestock Care Category, both students ranked area gold.