Cherokee County parents, teachers and administrators recently cut the ribbon to open the school district’s Transition Academy, a career and work center for students with cognitive disabilities.

The academy helps young adults ages 18 to 22 to transition into the community upon their exit from the school system, officials said. It is located inside the former Teacher Center at ACE Academy in Canton.

“Transition provides students with vocational experiences on-site where they learn to operate computers and equipment to fill orders from schools and the community,” according to a district announcement. “Students create banners and posters, vinyl lettering, t-shirts, die-cuts and more.”

The program seeks to teach students independence and daily living skills, and works with local businesses to place them in jobs in the community.

“It’s been a thrill to get to know the kids and see their work progress,” said schools Superintendent Brian V. Hightower. “These are great kids, and they have the work ethic that we want to see in all our kids.”

About the Author

Featured

In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC