It is one thing to spend part of the summer break hanging out and having fun. It’s quite another for a group of Central Educational Center (CEC) students to help shore up the amenities at the new Chattahoochee Bend State Park in northwest Coweta County.
And that is what 16 CEC students did during the week of July 11-15 when they helped blaze trails, clear campsites and set up the visitor’s center at the newly-opened Chattahoochee Bend State Park, according to Coweta County School System spokesperson Dean Jackson.
Jackson said the students worked with Park Manager Trint Wicklund and Friends of Chattahoochee Bend volunteer Dave Smith as a part of a Work-Based Learning internship. The students are also currently working to compile a history of the land that is now the state park, Jackson said.
Jackson explained that the Chattahoochee Bend experience was a part of summer work-based project through the charter school’s “Work-Based Learning: Service, Learning and Leadership” course. The course allows incoming seniors planned and meaningful community service experiences in conjunction with beginning their college application process and individualized career plan (ICP), he said.
Work-Based Learning Directors Regina Jackson, Dr. Steve Humphrey and Dr. Susan Mullins recruit juniors from all three Coweta County high schools. Juniors apply for the course, are interviewed, and then selected based on their desire to participate in service learning, their school record and their interest in researching their desired careers in depth.
“Colleges, universities, businesses and community organizations value service learning,” said Mullins. “Service Learning and Leadership focuses on community service learning, a completed college application portfolio and preparation of an individualized career plan along with organized job shadowing experiences. Team members have the opportunity to get a head start on the college application process and the college portfolio.”
Students participating last summer worked with pre-schoolers to help enhance their ability to come to school ready to read, said Jackson.
Mullins said that data collected from last year show that parents and team members value the individualized career planning, the in-depth authentic job shadowing and interviewing experiences and the early completion of the college admissions process. All of last year’s participants had been accepted to at least one post-secondary institution of their choice by October of their senior year of high school. Data also show that team members understood the value of service learning within this community, Mullins said.
