"We have a career tech program that is second to none," Woods told the Golden Isles Republican Women's Club on Monday at Bennie's Red Barn on St. Simons Island.
That program includes career pathways students choose that then guide the classes they take through high school. Woods said those pathways provide a wide range of options, many that train students and make them work ready out of high school in well-paying jobs.
"These are good careers for individuals," Woods said.
He said he knows of one student who sends his pay stubs back to his high school instructor so the teacher can show the next round of students that he is making around $60,000 annually at just 19 years old.
Woods said the idea is to create balance in the workforce in Georgia, which is why in some pathways, students can graduate with industry credentials in hand after getting real world experience as juniors and seniors in high school.
To ensure the pathways program is successful, Woods said teacher preparation and classroom leadership are key.
"Our principals are who we really have to focus on," Woods said. "If we are going to have success, we have to have great leadership."
To do that, Woods said he wants to partner with colleges to tailor teacher prep programs so that people entering education will have the tools they need to have long and successful careers.
He also wants to continue removing red tape around public education, which Woods said he has been doing since taking office roughly eight years ago. He wants educators to focus on teaching children and building good character in them.
School safety is also an ongoing concern that ranks atop the list of priorities for statewide policy makers. Woods said the new budget proposal from Gov. Brian Kemp includes measures to increase and enhance school security.
A club member asked Woods and Glynn County Superintendent Scott Spence, who was on hand and willing to answer questions as well, what they could do to address what she said was a "terrible discipline problem" in local schools.
Spence said what happens in Glynn County, also happens in the schools.
"Schools are a microcosm of our society," Spence said. "The things that we see in Glynn County are the things we are going to see in schools. It has to start at home. ... We try to work with every kid individually, but it has to start at home."
Woods agreed, but also said the aforementioned teacher preparation and leadership can go a long way to give teachers and principals the tools they need to lead classrooms and schools in a way that builds good character and minimizes discipline from the beginning.
"We need to not put a band-aid on the situation, we need a cure," Woods said.
©2023 The Brunswick News (Brunswick, Ga.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
