Newton County Schools CTAE Districtwide Advisory Meeting Minutes
March 20, 2018

he NCSS CTAE Districtwide Advisory meeting was held Tuesday, March 20th at 1:30p.m. at
NCCA. The meeting was called to order by NCSS CTAE Director Dr. Tim Schmitt. Dr.
Schmitt discussed the Conover Soft Skills Credentialing Software which is being piloted at the middle
schools and NCCA. The purpose of rolling the software out in them iddle schools is to reach students
at an earlier age so that they begin learning the skills they need to succeed in the workplace. Debra
Lary discussed how the Conover Software is being piloted at NCCA and gave feedback on what the
students think of the software. Dr. Schmitt gave an update on where things were with the Economic
Development Partnership. NCSS will have a visit from the Georgia State Department of Education
on April 10, 2018. The visiting team will visit the Newton Chamber and several schools
in the county to view how NCSS is doing with the Economic Development Partnership initiatives. At
the last Advisory Committee meeting, there was concern that there is a disconnect
between local businesses and the schools in Newton County. There needs to be a better way of
communicating to businesses what teachers need to help them make their programs more
successful. To address this need, funding was received in January to pay for the development of a
software platform similar to the web site Volunteer Match. The software will be a volunteer portal that
would match volunteers with the needs of teachers. The volunteer portal will be launched in the fall
and advisory members were asked to be beta testers of the software. This will allow us to get
feedback on the software before it is rolled out .Dr. Schmitt gave an update on the German
Apprenticeship Program. Based on the success of the program this year, Beaver Manufacturing,
SRG Global, Clarion Metalsand Shire are interested in having apprentices next year. Razi Sheikh
discussed some of the legal battles they have had having a German Apprentice this year. While he
agrees with the concept of the program, there is still work that needs to be done to clear up some of
the legal issues such as some related to OSHA. In his opinion, this model is too stringent and does not
allow students to change their pathways once they are in the program. Tim gave a recap of the
NCSS CTAE Awards Ceremony and advisory members were invited to attend the event in the future
to see all of the good things CTAE students are doing in Newton County. He also discussed the
Connect Newton Educator Externship.
 
He is looking for five companies to host four teachers this summer to complete an externship at their
company for half a day for five consecutive days. CTAE and core subject teachers and counselors will
work with companies to learn about the industry. The Externship is an opportunity for educators to
observe and interact with local businesses to have real-world industry experiences to bring back to the
classroom. Mollie Melvin mentioned that as local businesses are being recruited to host educators,
businesses with an arts focus should also be targeted to make the Externship a STEAM initiative and
not just a STEM one. Tim assured members that the focus for educator placements will
be STEAM.NCSS will have an Advanced Ed Review next school year (2018
 –
 2019). The last review was in 2013. Advisory members may be interviewed as part of this review
process. The focus of the review is on compliance. The Advanced Ed Review Team will visit all of the
high schools. There will be more information to follow. An industry discussion period was
held to hear feedback from advisory members. Businesses were asked what their immediate
needs were. See responses below: Conner Haler / Newton Federal Bank
 –
 How can businesses help teachers in the classroom? Tim and Debra mentioned by hosting industry
tours, being guest speaker sand assisting with Career and Technical Student Organizations like
FBLA, DECA, Skills,etc. Conner mentioned that he has had trouble connecting with some of the
NCCA teachers. He offered at the beginning of the school year to assist with a CTSO but it has been
difficult to connect with teachers. Tim recommended that he work with Tony Brooks in the marketing
pathway because marketing may be more aligned with what Conner can assist with. Mark Ross /
Right at Home Healthcare
 –
 He still feels that communication is missing and expectations of what teachers need from advisory
members have not been set. He is happy to hear about the creation of the volunteer portal and
definitely wants to be a beta tester of the software once it’s rolled out.  Razi Sheikh / Nisshinbo
 –
 Local employers should think about succession planning. Nisshinbo just hired four co-ops who will be
graduating this year. Because of the hiring, they will be able to fill needed positions from within the
company. More businesses should have some sort of succession plan for hiring. The next NCSS
Districtwide CTAE Advisory Committee meeting will be held fall 2018.The meeting was adjourned.

Newton County Schools CTAE Districtwide Advisory Meeting Minutes

 April 12,2017

The NCSS CTAE Districtwide Advisory meeting was held Tuesday, April 12
th at 8:30a.m. at NCCA. The meeting was called to order by NCSS CTAE Director Dr.
Tim Schmitt. Dr. Schmitt gave a recap of Newton County CTAE goals and Indicators of Success for
the 2016- 2017 school year. There are 689 pathway completers with an EOPA pass rate of 71%. The
graduation rate for CTAE students is 96.4%. The Georgia State Career Pipeline web site was
reviewed and discussed. Businesses can go togacareerpipeline.gadoe.org to see CTAE classes
being offered at all of the high schools. EOPA and other information can be viewed as well. The
German Apprenticeship roll out was discussed. NCSS has 47 students taking
the GPTC Accuplacer test this week. Students who pass will be admitted to
the program.
Participants can receive 2 TCC’s and will be close to obtaining an associate’s degree at
the completion of the program. There are currently 836 open manufacturing jobs and implementing
the German Apprenticeship Model in Newton County is our effort to help fill those jobs. NCSS
CTAE students were recognized at the first NCSS CTAE Awards Ceremony. This will be
an annual event. Tim asked for feedback from those who attended. Danny Stone said it was one of
the best programs that he has attended. He also stated that he was on one of the interview teams and
the students he interviewed were outstanding. He didn’t have any suggestions of things that
we should change. Debra Lary gave a recap of the NCSS WBL Programs for the 2016 – 2017
school year. There are 189 Work-Based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship students working and
interning in industries throughout the county. The WBL placements continue to grow. Debra thanked
the advisory members present who have interns at their locations. The NCSS WBL Employer
Appreciation Reception is Tuesday, April 25th at NCCA. All employers are invited and will be
recognized. In an effort to increase soft skills development for NCSS students
, Newton’s Ready is being developed. Newton’s Ready is an initiative that will be offered
to students in grades 6 through 12 initially. Newton’s Ready will not only assist students
with soft skills development, but it will teach them about career options. Dillon Henderson
commented that he is very excited about this initiative to push soft skills down to the elementary and
middle schools. He talked about the problems he has maintaining good employees and their lack of
soft skills. He feels that they are not getting soft skills training at home. He suggested adjusting the
curriculum to meet the needs of the local businesses specific to Newton County. Dr. Schmitt shared
that we can customize the curriculum to include whatever we want to cover for our students. Larry
Perry with Conyers Honda mentioned
 
how pleased he is with the caliber of students coming out of the NCSS CTAE programs. He is
available to visit classrooms to talk about soft skills if needed. Danny agreed that soft skills are lacking
and he commended teachers for taking on the task of soft skill training. Carol Martin, NCSS
Lead Nurse, discussed a partnership NCSS has with the LPN students at GPTC. These
GPTC students will be sent to clinics at elementary and middle schools in Newton County to complete
their clinicals. This is great exposure for our students as they see one aspect of what it’s like
to be a nurse and it will also give the GPTC students clinical settings to work in. Business
Partner Forms were passed out and completed by the advisory members. These forms will be used
to assist us in finding out in what areas a business is willing to assist. The next meeting date and
location to be determined. Minutes submitted by Debra Lary.