ATLANTA (July 27, 2018) — Marietta City Schools has officially broken ground on its $13.75 million college and career academy, located on the west lawn of Marietta High School. Marietta College and Career Academy, in partnership with Chattahoochee Technical College and the Cobb Workforce Partnership, will be designed to prepare students for personal and professional success with courses and career pathways that jumpstart their futures. By completing one of the academy’s career pathways, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to successfully enter Georgia’s workforce or transition into post-secondary education opportunities.
“Building a world-class college and career academy was the number one recommendation from the initial Cobb Workforce Partnership report,” said Austin Riley, Workforce Initiatives Manager for the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. “Cobb’s business and education leaders recognized that equipping students with the skills they need to succeed in a global economy is a step on the path toward helping our businesses find the talent they are looking for. The Marietta College & Career Academy meets this need in a unique way—it equips our students with not only the skills they will need but will also help them discover their aptitudes and, ultimately, their purpose. To that end, the Academy is a tremendous milestone in training the students and residents of our community to better participate in today’s economy and help local businesses find the skilled talent they need to thrive.”
One of Marietta College and Career Academy’s goals is to provide students with rigorous academic standards, valuable hands-on experience, and applicable real-world learning opportunities to give students futures they won’t have to second guess. With a direct focus on responding to Cobb County’s workforce needs, this academy will be offering pathways in skilled industries that are experiencing rapid growth, including Construction, Aerospace and Engineering, Healthcare and Bioscience, Professional Services and Information Technology. The Academy is expected to open in 2020. The Marietta College and Career Academy joins a network of 46 college and career academies in communities across the state. Approximately 30,000 students are enrolled in Georgia’s College and Career Academies, boasting graduation rates as high as 99 percent.
About Marietta City Schools
Marietta City Schools (MCS) became one of Georgia’s first Charter Systems in June 2008. The MCS charter system includes eleven schools: seven K-5 elementary schools, one sixth grade academy, one middle school, one high school, and one grades 3-5 elementary magnet school (Marietta Center for Advanced Academics).
About the Cobb Workforce Partnership
The Cobb Workforce Partnership is a coalition of both Cobb County and Marietta City Schools, Kennesaw State University, Chattahoochee Technical College, Georgia Highlands College, Life University, CobbWorks, and over 30 Cobb businesses—as a unified commitment to identify and address the workforce needs of our business community and to establish a pipeline of job-ready workers in Cobb. The vision is that every Cobb employer has an opportunity to educate and train their future workforce in partnership with educators as early as K-12, and every Cobb student is connected with career pathway opportunities in our community through every level of their educational track.
Media Contact
Amy Selby – [email protected]