Houston County Career Academy wins state award

A Middle Georgia school picked up a statewide honor Thursday, as the Houston County Career Academy was chosen as the College and Career Academy of the Year.

The award was presented at Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's annual Business and Education Summit, hosted by Golden Isles Career Academy in Brunswick.

"The tremendous partnership between the Houston County school system, Central Georgia Technical College and the local business community has produced an incredible, world-class educational institution that is leading Houston County into the bright economic future of tomorrow," Cagle said in a statement. "Their proven success at providing our students the relevant, job-related skills they need is more important than ever in the 21st century economy."

The academy is designed to accommodate vocational/tech-prep students who have not been successful in a conventional high school setting. The program offers vocational opportunities in a variety of programs for students who want to obtain a technical/career diploma. It has about 100 full-time and 450 part-time students.

The school's principal, Sabrina Phelps, attended the summit and said the group from Houston County reacted in a big way when the award was announced.

"We actually screamed when they said, 'Houston County Career Academy,'" she said.

She described the work at the school, which opened in 2010, as a collaborative effort between students from the county's five conventional high schools, as well as instructors from various industries served by the school, which include health care science, automotive, computer networking and metals technology.

The partnerships that were key to winning the award have played a central role in students leaving the school "equipped with skills from job shadowing, internships and apprenticeships.

"It's leading to more and more work-related experiences for our students," Phelps said.

Houston County Career Academy was up against the host school for the honor, along with Effingham Career Academy and Floyd County College and Career Academy. Phelps described those schools as "heavy hitters" with bigger student bodies and newer facilities, but she was thankful for the relationships the school has in the community and with other Houston County schools.

"It was very humbling to be selected among some large schools around the state," she said.

The award came with a $3,000 check presented by the Georgia Apartment Industry Education Foundation.

To contact writer Jeremy Timmerman, call 744-4331 or find him on Twitter @MTJTimm.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Houston County Career Academy wins state award ."