Education & Universities
There are two public school systems and one private school serving the county. In addition, excellent post-secondary institutions are in Dublin.
The Dublin City Schools are fully accredited by the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges (SACS) making the system one of only 33 in the state that has all of its schools accredited by the association and each have been recognized by the State as Schools of Excellence. The students of the County system consistently score above the national and state average on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, while SAT scores for college prep students average at around 1000 for those in accelerated classes. Trinity Christian School, also SACS accredited, provides a private, Christian education option to area families offering all students the opportunity to excel in scholarship, leadership, sportsmanship, and character at an unprecedented level.
Post-secondary institutions include the Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC), which works closely with new or expanding industry as part of the Georgia’s Quick Start program, and the University System of Georgia (USG), which provides degreed and research resources to businesses through the GeorgiaHIRE program.
The DuBose Porter Regional Business & Industry Training Center, of OFTC, opened its doors in 2004 and has already proven to be a major resource for the County and region as it is the largest facility of its kind between Macon and Savannah.
The Dublin Center, as part of USG, offers degrees in affiliation with Georgia Southern University and Middle Georgia College.
Furthermore, the Laurens County Library is a state-of-the-art facility for its size in the State and is part of the Oconee Regional System, serving over 85,000 people in five counties.
Additional Resources
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Local School Directory - This links to Georgia's School Directory providing independent data on each school system within the county.
Georgia Quick Start
For more than 40 years, Quick Start has provided customized workforce training free-of-charge to qualified businesses in Georgia. Today, the program is one of the state’s key assets for supporting new and expanding industries. Quick Start delivers training in classrooms, mobile labs or directly on the plant floor, or as they say it, “wherever it works best for a company.”
The program is recognized by publications such as ‘Expansion Management’ and ‘Fortune’ and since 1967, more than 3,700 companies and 390,000 Georgia workers have benefited from this no-cost program.
“Georgia QuickStart is nothing short of amazing. They came into our facility and were able to quickly understand our business, assess our jobs, and develop the training plans to provide new hires with necessary knowledge and skills. In manufacturing, time is money; and QuickStart’s (free) service allowed us to quickly ramp up operations.”
Joe Thomas, Plant Manager, Rockwell Automation
Additional Resources
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Georgia Quick Start - Their website is a great starting point to learn more.
OCONEE FALL LINE Technical College
Oconee Fall Line Technical College (OFTC) provides high-quality, low-cost career education. Serving the citizens of Middle Georgia, the DuBose Porter Regional Business & Industry Training Center is the largest venue of its kind between Macon and Savannah.
Their strength lies in equipping students with hands-on and theoretical skills that match the needs of local employers. The community institution works closely with the City, County, and businesses as part of the State’s Quick Start program.
This successful match has allowed OFTC to more than quadruple both its enrollment and number of programs offered since 1984, as well as consistently assists more than 95% of the graduates in securing jobs inside and out of Laurens County.
A great testimonial of the OFTC / Georgia QuickStart partnership is described in this letter written to Jep Craig, Oconee Fall Line Technical College's Vice President of Economic Development:
Dear Jep,I wanted to take a moment and let you know how pleased we are with the training our employees are receiving thru the Oconee Fall Line Technical College. We have had a long working relationship with the College beginning with the GED programs, Quick Step and up thru the Certified Manufacturing Specialist. These programs have not only allowed us to grow and expand our business, but have kept up competitive in a global economy. The employees that have gone thru these programs not only received specialized training for our industry but they have also received learning that will stay with them through out their life.
We have seen people that would not had opportunities in the past go to employees who are now earning as much as $17.00 per hour and higher. These types of experiences just don’t happen. They happen because of the dedicated individuals working together and that is what we have found at Oconee Fall Line Technical College. All of the faculty and staff have become partners with both Mohawk and our employees. You have been there when we needed the additional training and it has been delivered on sight, on time and first quality all the way.
I just wanted to say thanks for making a difference in our business and in our employees.
David Westerfield, Sr. Director, Human Resources, Mohawk Industries, Inc.
October 12, 2007
Additional Resources
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Oconee Fall Line Technical College - Go to OFTC's website to learn more about their programs and services to students.
Degree Institutions
Georgia is quickly gaining a national reputation for developing unique and diverse cutting-edge programs designed to enhance today’s business workforce. One project that’s attracting particular attention is Georgia 's Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP). As an economic development program of the University System of Georgia (USG), ICAPP brings together the intellectual resources of the state’s 34 public colleges and universities, including four research universities, with the state’s business community. Members of the ICAPP staff and economic development leaders and representatives from each campus provide Georgia businesses access to college-educated employees, the latest research, feedback and direction to business and operations.
Students seeking accredited degrees and businesses wanting to utilize ICAPP have two options in Dublin. Middle Georgia College (The Dublin Center) primarily supports 2-year degrees and a satellite branch of Georgia Southern University supports those seeking to take their education from Middle Georgia College and work towards a bachelor’s, master’s, or even a number of PhD’s.
Additional Resources
- Education Details - There are over 44 Institutions within 100 miles where individuals can receive a multitude of degrees. This download lists them and provides their enrollment figures.
