Business Review: St. Clair EDC
Ahead of the game
Workforce development programs gives a head start to children and their mothers Story by Scottie Vickery Photos by Wallace Bromberg Jr. When Kamitrice Woody registered her 5-year-old son for St. Clair County Head Start, she knew the school readiness program would give him a strong start to the rest of his life. She had no idea she would find the same thing for herself, but after enrolling in a workforce development program for single mothers, Woody is well on her way to a pretty bright future. “I’m very proud of myself that I’ll be able to provide for him,” said Woody, who is training to become a certified computer technician. “They’re helping him get ready for school, but they’re also helping the parents become successful. They do really amazing things.” A partnership among Head Start, Jefferson State Community College in Pell City and the Women’s Fund of Greater Birmingham, the workforce development program is aimed at eliminating generational poverty by training low-income, single mothers for jobs in competitive fields. In its fifth year, the St. Clair County program has impacted the lives of more than 80 mothers and their children. It also has garnered national attention. Dr. Raphael Bostic, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, recently visited the program to learn more about its impact. “It’s a very interesting program,” he said. “The mothers are able to get their training at the same place where their kids are being schooled. That’s really important. It can help solve some of the logistical problems.” That’s one of the keys to the program’s success, according to Kay Potter, director of Workforce Education for Jeff State. It addresses all of the common obstacles single mothers face when trying to find employment. Head Start provides free, quality child care for their children while the mothers are just down the hall learning to repair and maintain computers and work with hardware, software, networks and security issues. The students also receive free textbooks, supplies and a transportation stipend. In addition, First United Methodist Church in Pell City provides lunch for the mothers on class days. “It really is a fine-tuned machine,” Latoya Orr Threatt, executive director of the county’s Head Start program, said. “This is a great opportunity for these ladies to improve themselves.” Although the current group of students will be trained as computer technicians, past participants have been certified as pharmacy technicians, medical assistants, dental assistants and welders. “We created the model, and it’s gotten national attention,” Potter said. “We choose fields that are in demand because we want to make sure that when the students finish, they have the opportunity to find jobs.”
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Samantha Snow and Jateviyah Cole work on the computer’s motherboard.
Latoya Orr Threatt says she is proud of the strong foundation that Head Start provides so many children in St. Clair County.
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