Ware County School District Receives Economic Development Distinction

11/01/2024

The Ware County School District received the Economic Development Partnership award at the 2024 Economic Development Association Conference in Savannah on September 19, 2024.

From: Ware County Schools

The Georgia Department of Education, in partnership with the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) and Georgia Power, has selected the Ware County School District to receive the Economic Development Partnership (EDP) designation for FY24. Ware County was one of four systems across the state to receive this award. The designation is part of Georgia's Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) program.

Districts receiving the EDP designation participated in a certification process that prepared them to adopt best practices and behaviors that support economic development and align education with key regional industries. The EDP program elevates the capacity of school systems to serve as an essential part of the community in business recruitment and as a catalyst for talent development. For students, EDP promotes increased Work-Based Learning and Youth Apprenticeship opportunities, additional exposure to local business and industry, and career-relevant classroom content.

“These school systems contribute to the economic development efforts of their community by cultivating a strong workforce development ecosystem through strategic career-related opportunities for students, high-level stakeholder engagement practices, and operating energized CTAE programs," said Dr. Barbara Wall, GaDOE Deputy Superintendent for Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education. “This designation certifies that the school system in these four communities is at the center of local workforce development activities. Statewide, we are committed to doing our part to ensure Georgia remains the number-one state for doing business."

“Our schools must view themselves as partners in economic development,” said Dr. Lynn Barber. “Our goal must be to continually prepare students for the workforce. We have numerous opportunities here locally and we want to make sure that our students continue to make Ware County stronger. I’m grateful for our local community making this partnership possible.

Jason Rubenbauer, President and CEO of the Waycross-Ware County Development Authority helped throughout the EDP process. Rubenbauer had this to say regarding the award designation, “One of the biggest challenges in our country today is providing a highly qualified workforce for our existing businesses and industries. It is also one of the strongest recruitment tools when trying to attract new companies into an area to help these industries obtain full operational levels as quickly as possible. The EDP designation is extremely valuable to Waycross and Ware County and our region as a whole, as it allows our K-12 educational system to engage with our existing businesses and industries and other community leaders to ensure we are preparing our future workforce to succeed right here at home. Educating and retaining our talent and helping them see the opportunities they must attain for their personal level of success allows our faculty members to adapt to the industrial needs to prepare each student for their career goals, which will help them become productive members of our community quickly and cost-effectively.”

CTAE leaders in each EDP-designated district, along with community stakeholders, worked closely with the EDP team over the course of FY24 through a series of virtual meetings, a site visit, and required documentation submission. In Ware County, the local school and industry leaders gave the state committee an overview of economic development efforts and toured two sites that have partnered with the school district. These sites were Baptist Village, which represented the healthcare industry, and Clayton Homes, which represented the manufacturing industry.