Save the CNA

My daughter is a senior at Greenbrier H.S. in Columbia County. She has gone through significant schedule preparations over the last 3 years in order to include a 2 period Clinical Course in her senior year. Just to qualify for the prerequisites for this course my family has spent over $600.00 in Ga. Virtual Intro courses and CPR/AED/First Aid training. All worth it if my daughter gets the education the previous students received.

Her career path since middle school has been in the medical field. Had she known in her sophomore year that the CNA (and other) certifications were going to be dropped she would have planned her high school courses differently and wouldn’t of taken this course! She’s planned and has taken advantage of as many of the rigorous academic courses offered at Greenbrier. This year that includes the new 7^th period class option in which she chose to take an additional AP course and is dual enrolled. It certainly would have been more beneficial for her to take a few more AP Courses in her senior year instead of Clinical…had she known that the Clinical course was going to be reducing some of its most desirable educational advantages.

Certifications from a CTAE course in a student’s senior year can’t be underestimated! This is the bridge from High School to direct employment, it shows universities a student’s motivation in their career path, it gives students on hand experience and confidence. Those are the reasons why CTAE courses are offered in the first place. Columbia County is growing not only in population, but also in building new nursing facilities, medical offices and will soon have a new major hospital. If we want to see Columbia County students finding employment and volunteering their skills in Columbia County we have to offer CTAE courses with certifications.

I think it’s entirely unfair to spring this on the students after they’ve enrolled in the course! After looking at the State and County School Board websites I also think there should be some “heads up” on discussions in course changes so students, parents, and teachers have an opportunity to comment or make advanced preparations to adapt to the changes.