Georgia Northwestern Technical College, the largest Adult Education program provider in the Northwest Georgia region, will emphasize its role by raising the level of awareness of adult education and family literacy during International Literacy Day and Literacy Week in Georgia.
On Tuesday, the world will celebrate International Literacy Day and Gov. Nathan Deal has joined others across the nation by issuing a proclamation that extends this day into a week by designating Sept. 7-11 as Literacy Week in Georgia.
The Adult Education program at GNTC planned a series of events and activities in celebration of Literacy Week to draw attention to the needs of the community. The nine counties in the GNTC service area - Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Murray, Polk, Walker, and Whitfield – are holding events in support of improving the literacy skills of the region.
Some highlights of the Literacy Week activities that GNTC will host or take part in include:
On Tuesday, Greg Major, general manager of Chick-fil-A will speak at 9:30 a.m. and Rome Mayor Jamie Doss will present a Literacy Week Proclamation to Connie Smith, vice president of Adult Education at 10:30 a.m. The presentations will take place in Room 102 of the B Building on the Floyd County Campus of GNTC. A reception and lunch will take place after the presentations at 11:15 a.m.
Former Georgia Northwestern GED diploma recipients Donna Scott, admissions coordinator at GNTC; Alton Marks, GNTC graduate; and Jennifer Chambers, a nursing student at GNTC, will speak to Adult Education students in Room 102 of the B Building on the Floyd County Campus on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. The speakers will discuss how they continued their education and found success in the workforce.
On Thursday, Sgt. 1st Class Jarrod Thames, U.S. Army, will speak to Adult Education students in Room 102 of the B Building on the Floyd County Campus at 10 a.m. Sharon Dyer, library assistant at the Dalton-Whitfield County branch of the Northwest Georgia Regional Library, will give a presentation on literacy and available library services at the Whitfield County Adult Education Center in Dalton. Both presentations will take place at 10 a.m. An Open House will be held at the Summerville Adult Education Center from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. with refreshments provided by the Chattooga County Literacy Council.
GNTC Adult Education students will compete in an essay and poster contest on the Floyd County Campus. A panel of judges will review the essays and posters and award prizes. The first, second, and third place winners will be awarded on Thursday. The topic of the essay is “Your Journey – Past, Present, and Future,” and the theme for the poster design is “What You Want to Tell Your Children About Literacy.” Entries are due on Wednesday.
The Shirley Smith Learning Center in Ringgold will hold literacy celebrations throughout the month that will include book giveaways and awards for students beginning on Monday, Sept. 14.