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Published Sunday, January 29, 2012 in Education

Special

12 for Life graduate Nivenitie McDaniel assembles a reel around which wire produced at the plant will be wrapped for shipping. (Photo by Gary Leftwich/Southwire Company)

Southwire Company receives Race to the Top innovation grant

By Rebecca Leftwich

The Newnan Times-Herald

Southwire Company's 12 for Life program has been named one of 11 winners of Innovation Fund grants, awarded in the second round of Georgia's Race to the Top (RT3) Plan.

Through the Innovation Fund, the state awards grants to partnerships between local education authorities or charter schools, institutions of higher education, businesses and nonprofit organizations that develop or implement innovative and high-impact programs aimed at producing positive outcomes for students. Second-round grants were awarded to several partner programs promoting further education in Science, Technology, Math and Engineering (STEM) fields.

The Carrollton 12 for Life manufacturing plant opened in January of 2007 as a public-private partnership between Carroll County Schools and Southwire as an incentive to keep students at risk of dropping out of high school engaged through work study. Students attend classes at their regular high schools, then work one of three four-hour shifts at the 12 For Life campus. Working with a team of Southwire supervisors, students perform all tasks from manufacturing to inventory to shipping to scheduling. They do real work for real pay, which helps motivate participating students to finish their high school careers by improving self-esteem and work ethic.

"We are very excited the state recognizes the truly unique and successful partnership between Southwire and the Carroll County Schools," said Mike Wiggins, executive vice president of human resources for Southwire. "We plan to develop specialized instruction that enhances the already strong curriculum and learning opportunities 12 for Life offers students."

Carrollton's 12 for Life program serves students from Carroll and Heard counties, with two more campuses in Florence, Ala., and Forsyth, Ga. Southwire partners with Florence City schools in the Alabama program. The company helped set up the Forsyth program, but is not now directly involved in the partnership between Monroe County Schools and the Georgia Department of Corrections.

Since its creation, 12 for Life has graduated 301 students -- 249 in Carroll County -- from the three campuses, surpassing its goal of 175 by the end of 2012. Carroll County's graduation rate has improved from 65 percent in 2006 to 76.1 percent in 2011. Of those graduating from 12 for Life, 40 percent go on to college, 29 percent enter the workforce, 11 percent join the military and 10 percent are employed part-time.

"The credit for 12 for Life's being chosen as a Race to the Top recipient goes solely to the school system," Wiggins said. "We could not ask for a better partner as we seek to improve the lives of the young people in our community."

The 12 for Life program is the model for Great Promise Kids, a new effort from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. DCA Commissioner Mike Beatty has started a Great Promise Kids program in his office with five students, initiated on 12 for Life's fifth anniversary. Beatty is part of a committee dedicated to setting up programs in all Georgia cities.

"The Race to the Top Innovation Fund provides a unique opportunity for communities to collaborate and leverage their expertise to develop innovative solutions in education," said Gov. Nathan Deal. "We set the bar high in the first round, and the applicants selected for round two awards rose to the challenge. These projects provide big scale potential for developing our greatest resource and ultimately, ensuring Georgia's competitiveness."

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