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A three-day Summer Educators Academy was recently hosted by DeKalb Technical College in Clarkston as part of the ENERGE Grant initiative. ENERGE—Engaged Networking Energy Regional Georgia Education—is a collaborative effort between DeKalb Tech, the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Energy and Industrial Construction Consortium and is designed to bring career awareness and opportunities in the areas of Oil and Natural Gas, Electric, Nuclear Power, Transmission/Generation Power and Energy-Related Industrial Construction. 
On day one, educators from Arabia Mountain High School, Avondale High School, Columbia High School and McNair High School participated in the Think! Energy Professional Development Teacher Training Workshop. Trainers from the National Energy Foundation led discussions that served to enhance the energy literacy of the participants. The trainers also provided opportunities for everyone to participate in hands-on activities, which included building a motor, building and testing wind turbines and understanding the effects car-pooling has on energy preservation.
On day two, the participants traveled over to Georgia Power’s Klondike Training 
Facility where they went through the employment testing, recruitment and application process. Following another motor building activity, Gordy Morris, the Klondike Training Supervisor for Georgia Power took the group on a tour of the facility. Thereafter, Jim Holt, the Workforce Development Consultant for Georgia Power, teamed the group with Roger Ward, Instructor of the Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Training Program and Dennis Crosby, Training Coordinator of DeKalb Tech’s Regional Transportation Training Center, for rides on a bucket truck. The group learned that bucket trucks are used so that electrical line workers can reach the overhead power lines high off the ground. A manual pole demonstration was conducted by one of the Georgia Power trainers and the academy participants were given an opportunity to balance themselves from a training pole while pulling a light load of materials. These activities simulated the actual physical abilities test that Georgia Power trainees must undergo. The group also learned various welding techniques and practiced those techniques under strict supervision.
On the last day of the Summer Educators Academy, the teachers sat with Drafting Instructor Natoshia Anderson; HVAC Instructors Charlie Thompson, Brian Lovell and Jeryll McWhorter; and Electronics Instructor Bryan Sexton, all from the Industrial Technology and Transportation Department. The instructors shared information on the various programs of study at DeKalb Tech as well as all the opportunities available for their students. The day ended with tours of their classrooms and labs.
The academy participants went away excited about all they had learned and the opportunities available at DeKalb Tech that could be communicated to their respective students.
For more information about the ENERGE Grant initiative at DeKalb Technical College, contact Phyllis Green, Student Success Specialist, 495 N. Indian Creek Drive, Clarkston, GA 30021. 404-297-9522 ext. 1215; greenp@dekalbtech.edu.
DeKalb Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, promotes a student-centered environment for lifelong learning and development, encompassing academic and technical education for employment in a global community.
