August 19, 2024
Greensboro, Ga. — The Greene College & Career Academy (GCCA) at Greene County High School is celebrating its seventh year of operation as the cornerstone of career-focused education in the region. One of just 41 active college and career academies in Georgia, the GCCA continues to achieve remarkable milestones, with one of its most recent accomplishments being a perfect score on its five-year accreditation review by the Technical College System of Georgia. In recognition of this achievement, the GCCA will be honored at the World Congress Center in Atlanta in September.
The GCCA offers 13 Career Technical and Agriculture (CTAE) pathways, with Welding, Culinary Arts, Audio-Visual Technology, and Air Force JROTC consistently ranking as the most popular programs. The academy has seen significant growth in Work-Based Learning (WBL) opportunities in the local community and is moving toward establishing a full-time WBL program. A notable highlight is the new Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) pathway, which has placed eight students at St. Mary's Good Samaritan Hospital this semester, providing real-world healthcare experience.
This past school year also marked a milestone with the graduation of the first cohort from the Early Childhood Education pathway. The achievement was celebrated with the GCCA’s inaugural Future Educators Signing Day, featuring special guest State Superintendent Richard Woods. The GCCA has extended its reach beyond the GCHS student body to include students from Lake Oconee Academy, Nathanael Greene Academy, and homeschool communities, as well as adult learners who participate in evening classes, such as welding.
The GCCA’s engagement with the local community continues to deepen, underscored by the City of Greensboro and Mayor Corey Williams proclaiming February as CTAE Month in recognition of the academy's impact. With the appointment of GCCA CEO John Ellenberg as the new principal of GCHS, he remains committed to integrating career academy initiatives into broader school-wide strategies. This includes expanding employability and soft skills training, fostering more business partnerships, and offering benefits such as summertime teacher externships at local businesses.
"We are excited about the direction our academy and high school are taking together," said Principal Ellenberg. "By aligning our career and technical education goals with the broader mission of Greene County High School, we’re opening up even more opportunities for our students and staff. The future is bright for the GCCA, and we’re just getting started."
The GCCA’s dual enrollment program with Athens Technical College (ATC) is another standout feature, with the ATC Greensboro office housed within the academy’s Career Center and staffed full-time by an ATC Dual Achievement Coordinator. The academy’s dual enrollment offerings cover academic core subjects, such as college-level Language Arts, Social Studies, and Math, as well as CTAE courses like Welding, Culinary Arts, and Audio-Visual Technology (AVT). The AVT dual enrollment course is offered through Atlanta Technical College, as Athens Technical College currently does not provide a dual enrollment course for that pathway. The GCCA staff are committed to ensuring students have access to the best educational opportunities, and when a program isn't available locally, they actively seek out alternative options to meet their needs.
The GCCA’s dual enrollment cohorts have maintained a 100% college acceptance rate since the academy's founding. Thanks to the transferability of dual enrollment credits between the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia through memorandums of understanding with the USG Board of Regents and TCSG State Board, students are well-prepared for the next steps in their academic journey. Because dual enrollment saves each student up to $2,500 per course that they would have otherwise had to spend to take those courses in college, dual enrollment essentially amounts to an unwritten scholarship that totals up to $75,000 in potential funding per student to take 30 credit hours of college courses in high school.
"Dual Enrollment offers an incredible value for our students, saving them and their families significant tuition costs while ensuring future success through workforce development," said Dr. Andrea Daniel, President of Athens Technical College. "Our partnership with the GCCA ensures Green County students gain college credit and hands-on experience that may seamlessly transfer to colleges and universities in the state of Georgia, as well as the United States."
The GCCA’s impact on the local workforce is evident, with graduates deftly transitioning from the GCHS commencement stage into skilled positions within the community. Recent success stories include alumni who have been hired by local businesses and put what they learned in their GCCA CTAE pathways to work right away as welders as Boiler & Steam Performance and nursing assistants as St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital. Alumni like Davion Peek, a Greene County Sheriff’s Office employee and a graduate of Augusta’s new police academy, and Edgar Escutia, who started his own HVAC business after graduating from Athens Technical College, exemplify the academy’s mission. Notable alumni also include Paulina Macias, the 2021 GCHS valedictorian and now the owner of Jalisco Mexican Grill at Lake Oconee.
“Our goal is to build a strong pipeline of skilled workers who will drive Georgia's future economy,” said Greene County CTAE Director Mariana Mansfield. “By investing in education and hands-on training, we're not just preparing students for jobs—we're empowering them to become leaders in their fields and contributors to our state's growth.”
The GCCA continues to set a high bar for student achievement, workforce readiness, and community engagement, serving as a model for what a college and career academy can accomplish. The future holds exciting possibilities as the academy remains focused on empowering students and strengthening the community it serves.
