Area business leaders, members of governing bodies and school officials gathered in the Human Services Building Tuesday afternoon to learn about Davidson Vision.

The idea started in Davidson County as an economic development project with community leaders, school systems and Davidson County Community College. However, to make the project more viable and ensure it had a larger impact, they approached Surry County with the idea for a career academy.

The Yadkin Valley Regional Career Academy is just a dream at this time, but if it comes to fruition, it could provide a service for students in Davidson, Davie, Yadkin and Surry counties.

“We believe this is the most exciting economic development project to hit our region and our state in many, many years,” said Barry Sink of Davidson County.

“We’ve been working for quite a while and I felt we were due to let the people in Surry County know,” said Dr. Ashley Hinson, superintendent of Surry County Schools, of the reason for having the meeting. “Hopefully this will inform the stakeholders and generate support for the initiative, because it will require a great deal of collaboration.”

With the change in the economy, employers are looking for different skill sets. The academy would seek to fill those demands by helping to train students in specific areas. The Yadkin Valley Career Academy would focus on career clusters including health sciences, advanced technology, global logistics and interactive design.

According to Sink, the academy would not compete with the career and technical education classes high schools offer, but would serve as a complement to them. The academy would lend itself more towards the mid-range students who may be at a risk to drop out by providing them with academic relevance.

Dr. Darrin Hartness, superintendent of Mount Airy City Schools, attended a meeting with Davidson Vision about a year ago as part of one of the initial planning sessions. He feels that the concept may not be the best fit for Mount Airy.

“I said then and I still believe that students in Mount Airy City Schools are receiving a high quality education. Our students participating in career and technical education courses earned the highest VOCATS scores of any school district in the state this past year,” he said. “We will continue to adapt and revise vocational course offerings, but I am not convinced our students would be better served at a Regional Career Academy than at Mount Airy High School.”

By working to provide students with a means to become globally competitive, the committee hopes to draw more businesses to the area. Workforces are not only having to compete within the state but also with the world.

“We have to be competitive as rural counties and we have to do it regionally,” said Theresa Reynolds, senior vice president of the Piedmont Triad Partnership which provided the seed money for the project. “Companies are not going to locate here without the infrastructure. Our high school students are our future.”

One of the major components of the academy would be its reliance on the community colleges. The academy would have two sites, one near Davidson County Community College and one near Surry Community College.

“The community colleges are vital. When students enter ninth grade, we want them to have a clear-cut path that will lead them all the way to an associate’s degree,” said Sink. “We want to prepare students for a post-secondary education and success in the global economy. We want to teach these kids how to be their own man.”

“The objective of the career academy is to prepare students for higher education and employment in high-growth and high-demand careers. Initiatives that address the academic needs for continuing an academic journey and the workforce development needs of a community are critical in today’s global economy. The career academy can be a positive additional option for high school students in our community,” said Dr. Deborah Friedman, president of Surry Community College.

Representatives from Surry County Schools, Surry Community College, Mount Airy City Schools, Elkin City Schools, the Surry County government, Mount Airy government, Pilot Mountain government, Davidson County and a number of area businesses as well as some politicians running in the upcoming election were present at the meeting to hear about the group’s vision for the region.

“I was pleased with the turnout, and I was also pleased with what the presenters said. We had significant representation from the municipalities and the county government,” said Hinson. “We are hoping to make that dream come true.”

Contact Morgan Wall at mwall@mtairynews.com or 719-1929.