A Memorandum of Understanding calls for the school system to enter into a five-year lease with the SRRC for three classrooms in the new Anna K. Davie building, which will be constructed on East Main Street. The learning center would have access to facilities from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

City Schools officials will work with personnel at Berry College to design and implement a curriculum, which will follow the model used at the Berry Child Development Center.

Berry will screen and hire teachers for the early learning center and provide the overall operational management for the center.

The adult learning center will provide educational opportunities for residents in South Rome, with particular attention paid to offering English as a Second Language courses. Other programming will be designed to aid in the development of the workforce.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College will provide the management functions for the adult learning center and staff all ALC activities. The technical college will also work with the team from Berry to develop appropriate curriculum for the adult learning center.

All of the partners have also agreed to develop an urban teaching center and to provide professional development opportunities for teachers who serve Anna K. Davie and other Title I Rome City Schools.

The school system will provide at least one classroom for the urban teaching center.

The South Rome Redevelopment Corp. will be primarily responsible for obtaining grants and other financial resources to support the operation of the three programs. The MOU indicates that all four partners will take an active role in fundraising activities.

When it comes to fund­raising, SRRC board member Joe Montgomery said the agency should wait until it has a fully developed plan for the programs.

Start-up capital expenses for the projects were estimated at close to $180,000 in September 2012. The annual operating costs were estimated at $500,000.

Read more: RN-T.com – South Rome plans early learning and adult centers for Anna K Davie School

Rome News-Tribune
By Doug Walker
April 17, 2013