Academy for Educational Development

Washington, D.C., January 27, 2005 — The AED National Institute for Work and Learning (NIWL) convened forty education and business leaders from three Georgia communities in Washington, D.C. this week to begin planning the startup of new public charter high schools. The new schools will replicate Coweta County’s Central Educational Center (CEC) seamless education and workforce development model, which has proven equally successful in graduating students prepared to enter the workforce directly or to pursue a college degree.

Under a grant from the Georgia Department of Education, CEC will assist the districts in the replication of the CEC model through August of 2006. The communities participating in the project are Douglas, Walton, and Whitfield counties.

NIWL will manage the initiative and serve as a connection and conduit between Georgia state and national school reform efforts.

CEC is a unique partnership among Coweta County Schools, West Central Technical College, and business and industry. The school was begun to meet the needs of a 21st century economy by seamlessly weaving together secondary and postsecondary education and training with the needs of business and industry. Students can earn both high school and college credit simultaneously through CEC’s dual-enrollment program, and they also connect directly with business through an innovative Work-Based Learning program.

CEC invited NIWL to be a partner in the replication effort because of its national experience in school to career programs and workforce development. NIWL is providing technical assistance to the replicating sites through hosting conferences, workshops, and training sessions, making site visits, and producing written resources, such as a replication manual.

“The CEC model is so powerful because business is leading the partnership with public schools and postsecondary institutions, not only to improve education for all students but also to catalyze economic development in the community,” said Keith MacAllum, Ph.D., who is directing the program for NIWL. “I see the model's successful replication in Georgia as having national implications for education reform efforts.”

“It has always been our goal to help other districts re-invent education with the CEC model,” said Russ Moore, CEC’s chief executive officer. “We’ve seen so many positive results from this program, particularly in the success and motivation of our students.”

Since it opened in 2000, CEC has been named a National Model High School by an international consortium of educational organizations and has hosted hundreds of delegations from other states and countries.

While in Washington, participants met with U. S. Senators Johnny Isackson and Saxby Chambliss, as well as U. S. Representatives Lynn Westmoreland, David Scott, and Phil Gingrey.

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