What’s Right With Our Schools: CCA 911 Center
RINGGOLD, GA (WDEF) – Emergency dispatchers play a crucial role in public safety. The next generation is learning the skills they’ll need at the Catoosa College and Career Academy. That’s a potentially life-saving example of what’s right with our schools.
“So, we’ve started a partnership with the school system here with the criminal justice pathway. And last year at the end of the school year we taught children the jail certification course,” said Gark Sisk, the Catoosa County Sheriff.
“Put your knees in the chair faces that way.”
“The Criminal Justice program here is a two-year dual en enrollment program. We’re through Georgia Northwestern Technical College. These are juniors and seniors in high school. Basically we divide the college course work up and mix it with Hands-On skills associated with the occupations in the public safety fields primarily criminal justice. Their senior year, we offer two state level certifications. One being the Georgia basic jailers course. And we just this year we just started the Georgia dispatchers course,” said Travis Head, a Criminal Justice Instructor at the Catoosa College and Career Academy.
“Catoosa County 911.”
“These students are part of a class that’s coming up next year. They’ll be seniors, so they’ll have to you know decide what they want to do with their lives. You know, if it is dispatched something that they were interested in pursuing, and getting them excited for the training next year,” said Head.
“I’m Lexi Gohley, I’m 18 years old. And I just started in dispatch less than a year ago. I’m not really sure what got me interested in it. I just sat in with this shift a couple times, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love the atmosphere especially with the people I worked with. And that just kind of pulled me in from there. And I just kind of liked the job because of who I work with,” said Lexi Gohley, a dispatcher at the Catoosa County 911 Center.
“Lexi graduated last year from my program. I actually had her back when I was at Ringgold. So, I’ve had her in school for four years. Lexi was always interested in something in criminal justice. She was always willing to jump in and do the hands-on skills. She’s very good with the academics side of the course. And she is always willing to put forth her best effort to master, you know whatever she needs to do,” said Head.
“Going through the Career Academy was probably one of the best things that I could have done while in high school. It offers so much more than the actual high school itself. It aligns you with college classes. And depending on your teacher, you can line up with your job for the future once you graduate,” said Gohley.
“I think it’s really cool. I think it’s amazing that she’s already made it here. And that she’s got such a great job at just how young she is. I think it’s incredible,” said Natalie Byrd, a junior at Lakeview Fort Oglethorpe High School.
“It makes me feel really good whenever we hear that somebody has made it. Or if we find out from an officer that they said thank you for your calmness. Or when they tell you on the phone thank you for your service, it really makes my heart melt kind of. Because we’re actually being noticed for what we do,” said Gohley.
“Our primary focus is to provide our kids our students with the means to, graduate high school. And enter a good paying career. And if we can keep them in our community without them having to leave our community, that’s our main goal,” said Head.
