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Where else but at a Dublin Middle School Career Fair can you try your hand at welding a pipe, practice giving chest compressions, learn the ins and outs of real estate, ride a hoverboard, and even get a manicure?

Though graduation may still be years away, our 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Graders are already looking toward their futures, gaining insights into the careers and educational paths that lie ahead.

With more than 30 industry representatives on-site, students explored career paths in healthcare, community services, construction, business, law enforcement, teaching, and more. In fact, throughout the day, professionals provided hands-on experiences that connected various fields to the advanced educational options available at Dublin High School, the Dublin City Schools College and Career Academy, and Oconee Fall Line Technical College.

“Today we’re experiencing lots of different jobs,” shared Erin James, a Dublin Middle School 6th Grader who is still deciding whether she’d like to be a teacher, a nurse or a police officer. “That way, we’ll know what we want to be when we grow up. And, we’ll know what classes we need to take at Dublin High School and in college in order to successfully do those jobs.”

Taylor Daniel, also in 6th Grade and aspiring to become a hairstylist, was thrilled by the chance to see so many careers up close. “Some people don’t get to do this at their high school, let alone middle school,” she said. “So the fact that we get to have a Career Day at Dublin Middle School is incredibly important because it’s exposing us to different types of jobs. Some of my classmates want to be nurses, police officers, or dentists. Today, they were able to talk with people in those roles to find out what they need to do to have that job.”

Career Day is part of a larger vision led by Workforce Coordinator Eric Cannada, who strives to introduce students to a broad range of careers available right in Dublin-Laurens County.

“Today, they’re learning about what courses they’ll need in high school and how dual-enrollment options with Oconee Fall Line can prepare them for certification. It’s about our students understanding the paths available to them now so they can start planning their futures,” he said.

Cannada emphasizes the dual importance of GPA. In addition to standing for grade point average, he encourages middle schoolers to begin thinking about their Grades, their Plans and their Actions so that when they get to high school, they have a clear direction of what they want to do and know the path they need to take to reach their goals.

Dublin Middle School’s Principal, Dr. Willie Batts, was equally enthusiastic, describing the day as a turning point for many of his students.

“We want to expose our students to everything that our community has to offer, to make sure their minds are open to all the possibilities—even though they may live in a small, rural town, they can be whatever they want in life,” he said. Reflecting on the significance of Career Day, Batts added, “It’s just like watching my son score the game-winning touchdown. To see my students walking around, asking questions, getting their little minds fed—it’s inspiring. I can’t wait to hear tomorrow about the new dreams they’re pursuing because I guarantee you that list has changed after today.”

As Career Day came to a close, students left with not only new ideas about what they might want to pursue but also a clear sense of the classes and programs that will help them achieve those goals. This experience has undoubtedly set them on a path of discovery, helping each student envision how they can make their aspirations a reality right here in Dublin.

A special thank you goes to our presenters for attending today’s Career Fair and exposing our students to an array of opportunities: Advantage Rehab; Bank of Dudley; Chelle Realty; Citizens Bank; City of Dublin City Council, Fire, Natural Gas and Police; Dublin City Schools College and Career Academy’s Agriculture, Business, Construction, Cosmetology, Food & Consumer Science, JROTC, Public Safety, Mechatronics, Teaching as a Profession and Work-Based Learning; EMT; Easter Seals; Fairview Park Hospital; Farmers Furniture; GayCo Healthcare; Happy Tails Mobile Vet,; Middle Georgia Family Dentistry; OFTC Admissions, Automotive, Construction and Welding; Carl Vinson VA Equal Employment, Food & Nutrition, Nursing, Pharmacy and Volunteer Services; West Rock Smurfit; Wild Bore Mechanical and YKK.

Additionally, we’d like to thank both TV35 and 13WMAZ for covering today’s exciting event.

Aiyana Boston and Carter Edwards are only in the 8th Grade, but already the pair have college on the brain. Earlier this week, the Dublin Middle Schoolers became the latest Dublin City Schools students to become REACH Scholars.

REACH - Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen - is a key component of the Governor’s Complete College Georgia, which identifies strategies for the state’s public and private colleges to achieve the goal of having 60% of Georgia’s adult population earn some type of postsecondary credential by 2025. Its mission is to provide Georgia’s most promising students with academic, social and financial support needed to graduate from high school and college prepared for work.

REACH begins in middle school with teachers and administration nominating 8th Graders who have demonstrated academic promise as well as good attendance and behavior. When a student successfully completes REACH and graduates from high school, they are awarded a $10,000 scholarship for up to four years of college - $2500 per year - that can be used at any Georgia HOPE eligible two or four-year college.

Both Boston and Edwards have been part of Dublin City Schools since Pre-K! Fighting Irish Family, join us in congratulating these inspiring scholars and their proud families!

The Fighting Irish Family will be reunited for the first time of the 2023-2024 School Year on Tuesday, August 1st! We can't wait to see your family on August 1st for Open House!

In addition to meeting new teachers & reconnecting with friends, every campus will also be having their Local School Governance Team elections.

As a reminder, each campus has at least one LSGT position open. Therefore, if you know someone that’s dedicated to serving our students or would like to nominate yourself to serve in this important role, please contact the school’s principal by 3:00 PM on Friday, July 28th.

Dublin High School (Principal Michael Overstreet - michael.overstreet@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8040): 1 Parent, 1 Teacher

Dublin Middle School (Principal Willie Batts - willie.batts@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8130): 2 Parents, 2 Teachers, 1 Community Member

Hillcrest Elementary School (Principal Sherrell Edmond - sherrell.edmond@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8130): 2 Parents, 2 Teachers, 2 Community Partners

Irish Gifted Academy (Principal Matt Taylor - matt.taylor@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8450): 1 Parent, 1 Teacher

Moore Street School (Principal Catina Puckett - catina.puckett@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8400): 2 Parents

Susie Dasher Elementary School (Principal Lakeisha Fluker - lakeisha.fluker@dcsirish.com // 478.353.8250): 1 Teacher

Three, two, one, go! 

The newly redesigned dcsirish.com was designed with YOU in mind.  Based on YOUR feedback, our new and improved website: 

• Has quick access to your most asked for searches, 
• Provides cleaner, more intuitive navigation, 
• Has pages that display effectively and efficiently on mobile devices, 
• Is a hub for great news,   
• Is your one-stop-shop for Fighting Irish Athletics news, scores & schedules, 
• Automatically translates into our top languages! 

This new state-of-the-art site is a direct result of our Strategic Planning Process and core belief that “early and ongoing engagement by families and [our] community is critical to success.”  With its new design, our website allows for more robust, two-way communications from district and school-level departments. 

Despite the excitement, we know change can be hard.  So, to ensure the transition is a smooth one, we’ve created this short video to show where your previous top searches can be found on the new page.  Additionally, here’s a one-sheeter that explains the why and delves deeper into our design. 

We started the move at 11:00 AM, and depending on your internet browser, you’ll see the change over the next few hours.  Alternatively, if you click on dcsirish.com and are still going to the old site, we encourage you to restart your device or clear the cache and cookies on your computers, Chromebooks and cell phones. 

Thank you for your continued support of Dublin City Schools. We can’t wait to hear your feedback as we strive to provide our staff, students and families with the most up-to-date news!