Jacob Exley
Jacob Exley - Effingham Country High School
Jacob completed the Logistics pathway at Effingham College and Career Academy.
Through the WBL program, Jacob was able to participate in the Youth Apprenticeship program at Gulfstream.
While at Gulfstream, Jacob worked in the tool room where he provided support for the engineers. His duties included inventorying of tools, calibrating tools, and providing assistance to the engineers.
In May, Jacob was offered a full time position with Gulfstream. He will begin in June as a Position 4 mechanic.
Jacob will also be attending Savannah Technical College to further his education as a machinist.
Haley Henderson
Haley Henderson
I work at Valdosta Animal Hospital. I do many daily tasks, such as feeding, weighing, and taking the temperature of animals. I even assist in giving medication, or providing nursing care before and after surgery. I plan on becoming a Veterinarian myself, so with this job I am learning as much hands on as I can!
Bri Cribbs
Bri Cribbs – Effingham Country High School
Bri completed the Patient Care Fundamentals pathway and received her Patient Care Technician certification. Through WBL she was able to intern at Effingham County Middle School with the school nurse her 11th grade year and with the Springfield Elementary school nurse her senior year. Her duties included charting, vitals, strep and flu tests, and general first aid tasks.
At Springfield Elementary, she also operated the TeleMed system which is an live online system in which the school nurse can conference call with the doctor and send vital signs, tests, throat and ear checks etc.
Her WBL experience confirmed that she wants to be a nurse and will succeed in this career field. Bri will be attending The Technical College of the Low Country and will major in nursing.
Lowndes High School - #InvestingInTheirCommunity
Work-Based Learning, Lowndes High School, and Community Partners - #InvestingInTheirCommunity
The Work-based Learning (WBL) program at Lowndes High School is designed to place students in employment situations that are specifically tied to the courses that they have studied while on campus at Lowndes High School. A WBL placement is an extension of the Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education (CTAE) pathway classes and often serve as a capstone to the pathway completers. Students in WBL are released from school to go to work, where they can receive school credit for up to three blocks a semester. WBL is designed to be a bridge between the school, employers, and the families within our community! We had a very busy and robust first semester...placing over 50 students at the worksites of over 45 employers. Currently, the program has grown to 123 students this semester, and these students are placed at a variety of businesses and worksites throughout our community.
The WBL program can have a significant impact on our community in two main ways: through Workforce Development and Economic Development. The local workforce can be developed through the pairing of small business, who are in need of specialized labor, with students who possess specialized training but are in need of employment to practically apply the skills that they have acquired in the classroom and labs at Lowndes High School. Secondly, the WBL program can have a substantial Economic impact as it generates wages that are earned and spent in our community, as well as taxes that are collected and used to better our community. Below is a graphic that demonstrates the Labor Income Impact and a Conservative Iteration of an Economic Impact Analysis.
First-semester students enrolled in the Work-based learning program at Lowndes High School earned over $1 above minimum wage, accrued more than 16, 318 hours, and earned over $134,790 in wages. The average earning expectation of a student during the first-semester was $2,642.94. Based on first-semester averages, the second-semester totals will be: 39,356.17 hours worked with total wage earnings over $325,981.96. This places the Lowndes High School Work-Based Learning program at just under half of a million dollars of Labor Income Impact through wages earned.
We are very grateful to all of our partners who help contribute to the dynamic environment of the WBL program at Lowndes High School. Below are some highlighted success stories, but please follow us on Instagram and Twitter @lhs_wbl to see all the great things that are happening in the Work-Based Learning Program and to see all of our amazing partners who have employed our students this year!
Margaret Sayre and Valdosta Animal Hospital
Valdosta Animal Hospital has become an invaluable partner to the Lowndes County Work-Based Learning (WBL) program. They have demonstrated a clear vision and dedication to the development of the students whom they employ through hands-on mentoring and guidance. Most recently, Valdosta Animal Hospital has embraced an opportunity to work with a non-traditional student in the WBL arena and get creative in finding a way to meet the career development needs for Margaret Sayer, a Senior at Lowndes High School. Most WBL students have their placement linked to a Career, Technical, and Agriculture Education (CTAE) Pathway at Lowndes High School. However, while Margaret, who aspires to be a Veterinarian, has taken the necessary CTAE classes such as Animal Science & Biotechnology in the Forestry & Animal Science Systems Pathway in Ag. Education, she has also taken a heavy load of AP Science courses in her academic preparation for a career as a Veterinarian such as Zoology, Environmental Science, and Biology. In this placement, Margaret will be afforded the opportunity to work closely with the Doctors, learning how a veterinarian must relate not only the patient but also the owner of the patient. Margaret will also be able to apply the content that she learned from her Biology, Zoology, and Animal Science classes when she is provided the opportunity to observe and assist in routine surgical procedures. The Lowndes High School Work-Based Learning program is dynamic due to partnerships such as this one, as well as motivated students and creative employers, like Margaret Sayre and Valdosta Animal Hospital respectively.
Justin Ridley and Steeda Manufacturing
Three of the most challenging jobs to be found in the Lowndes County area concerning Work-Based Learning are Healthcare, Automotive, and Welding placements. Steeda Manufacturing has stepped up in a HUGE way for the Lowndes High School (LHS) Work-based Learning (WBL) program by providing a great work environment that will serve the students in two of these three areas. Steeda Manufacturing has hired Justin Ridley as a fabrication specialist where he will weld and manufacture the custom, made-to-order, parts that are purchased by Steeda customers across the country. This placement aligns perfectly with the pathways, both Automotive and Ag. Mechanics (Welding/Fabrication), that Justin has taken at Lowndes High School.
Mr. Scott Boda, the Director of Manufacturing at Steeda, has a passion for his business, but also for investing in the emerging workforce by providing the work-ethics and employability skills necessary for success in any career field. He will no doubt be an excellent mentor for Justin, and we are excited about the prospect of a long-lasting relationship with Steeda Manufacturing.
Jonathan Frazier and Black Crow Media
Black Crow Media, the preeminent media and communications power in the South, partnered early in the school year with the Lowndes High School Work-based Learning program. They hired Jonathan Frazier as their in-house graphic designer. Jonathan designs everything from web-based ads and large-format banners to coupons and business cards. This placement is perfect for Jonathan, who completed both the Graphic Communications and Graphic Design pathways at Lowndes High School. Jay Mathews, played an integral role in helping facilitate this partnership, which will serve the students from the Lowndes High School Graphic Communication and Graphic Design Pathways for years to come. Mr. Mathews’ vision and willingness to look for creative employment opportunities have given Jonathan a platform to display his talent and skill set, both of which were harnessed and refined by Mrs. Marilu Cantrell, the Graphics teacher at Lowndes High School. This placement has and will continue to serve Jonathan in his growth and development toward his career goal of becoming a Graphic Designer.
Makiya Brown
