Heading off to college, Kaiden Summey packed more than study skills; he brought real-world training and a clear roadmap for his career.
Summey, now in his second year at the University of Georgia, graduated from the Cobb Innovation and Technology Academy (CITA) in the Cobb County School District (CCSD) with pathways in cybersecurity and energy and power. At UGA, Summey studies agricultural and applied economics with a minor in environmental economics at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He credits CITA with both introducing him to a field he’s passionate about and providing him with the resources he needed to successfully apply to UGA.
“CITA just made a huge impact on my life,” he said. “The teachers and administrators helped me a lot in terms of getting to where I am and becoming the best I can be.”
Learning about energy and its relationship to the environment influenced Summey’s academic and career goals.
“I want to work in conservation, but on the business side,” he said. “I’m passionate about the environment. When you’re learning about energy and power, the environment is a huge part of that. It was always in the back of my mind when I was taking those classes. If I hadn’t taken the energy and power pathway, I might not be doing what I am right now.”
CITA’s energy and power lab has equipment and models to help students learn about
energy production and distribution.
Summey is one of hundreds of Cobb County students who have benefited from college and career academies in Cobb, which were born out of a workforce development effort supported by the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
College and career academies combine traditional academics with hands-on training in Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) pathways. Students acquire skills in a real-world environment and graduate with competencies and credentials, ready to succeed post-graduation.
“Every student needs career development, whether they’re going into the workforce or pursuing higher education after graduation. These schools offer integrated learning,” said UGA Institute of Government Associate Director and workforce development expert Greg Wilson.
Cobb County currently has three academies in two school districts: Marietta City Schools’ College & Career Academy at Marietta High School (Marietta City Schools) and CITAs at Osborne High School in Marietta and Allatoona High School in Acworth (CCSD). All three have launched with insight and support from the UGA Institute of Government.
In 2015, the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce engaged the UGA Institute of Government and formed Cobb Workforce Partnership under the SelectCobb umbrella. Through the initiative, they convened a team of community, business and education leaders to explore and activate workforce and talent pipeline strategies. The group chose to look at CTAE and workforce alignment.
CITA Student operates a heavy equipment simulator.
“As part of our strategy, we supported both school systems in developing CITA and Marietta College & Career Academy,” said chamber President Sharon Mason. In 2015, Mason served as the chamber’s chief operating officer. "Both academies play vital roles in helping students have exposure and access to high demand career fields."
The UGA Institute of Government team facilitated stakeholder meetings and provided data to guide the planning process.
“Using labor market data and local employer feedback, we led design sessions to clarify the community’s priorities and map out what a college and career academy for Cobb County students would look like,” UGA Institute of Government Associate Director David Tanner said.
After years of planning, both CCSD and Marietta City Schools opened their college and career academies in 2020. Today, those academies are flourishing.
Each year, more than 600 students from across CCSD apply for 150 spots at CITA at Osborne High School
Demand has been so strong that CCSD opened its second CITA this fall at Allatoona High School.
School district officials again called upon the UGA Institute of Government for help as they planned this new CITA. The institute compiled and analyzed labor market data the district used to guide CTAE pathway selection for the new academy.
“We looked at demographic trends in north metro Atlanta, economic development announcements and fast-growing occupations to provide baseline information,” Wilson said. “We also worked with a school steering committee to develop recommendations for the second academy and assisted with design as part of the planning process.”
While all high schools in the district offer some CTAE classes, students at the original CITA have access to 17 specialized pathways clustered around emerging technology, health care and maker industries.
Allatoona High School’s CITA broadens the district’s offerings with CTAE pathways in four high-demand areas: aviation, skilled trades, health care and advanced computing. Courses are offered in fields like pharmacy, aviation maintenance, flight operations and artificial intelligence.
Students learn about airway management during a healthcare class.
CITA Executive Director Tiffany Barney said the academy consults with local business partners like NAPA Auto Parts, Ed Voyles Automotive Group and Wellstar Health Systems to ensure students learn with the same technology they’ll find in the workplace, from automotive tools to surgical suite lights. Students perform car maintenance, practice healthcare skills in an ambulance simulator, wire electrical panels and practice climbing utility poles sponsored by Cobb EMC.
“Students are getting a traditional diploma, but we’re focusing their extracurriculars and electives so they can make an informed decision after high school,” Barney said. “Whatever a student wants to do after graduation, they have a plan for their future. That is ultimately our goal for every child.”
CITA Executive Director Tiffany Barney holds a metal sculpture created by a welding
student.
David Connell, who retired as Cobb County Chamber president and CEO in 2017, championed the academies as part of the chamber’s economic development strategy. Reflecting upon the academies’ successes, he noted that the partnership with UGA helped turn an idea into reality.
“We were trying to help change the paradigm, and it’s very rewarding to see that it worked,” he said. “The folks at Carl Vinson Institute were invaluable in making it happen. The school districts embraced it and defined it in ways that fit for them. I’m very proud of these academies. Simply put, we could have never achieved the success we did without the talented professionals at UGA's Carl Vinson Institute.”
Students practice finger sticks in a phlebotomy class.
CITA’s mock surgical suite is set up with the same equipment and supplies students will encounter as future healthcare professionals.
Lab coats embroidered with the CITA logo hang outside a classroom.
Students practice cutting and joining PVC pipe by building marshmallow launchers in the HVAC classroom.
Toy cars line the walls in the automotive classroom at CITA.