Ignite College and Career Academy 903 South Georgia Tech Parkway, Americus, GA 31719 229-931-8850

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What We Do

At Ignite College and Career Academy students can graduate high school with transferable college credit earned for free, up to and including certificates, diplomas and degrees, plus the skills they need to be successful in careers they choose.

Ignite is a “school within a school” at Sumter County High School. Any SCHS student may enroll at Ignite merely by registering for a course offered there, including all CTAE electives and dual enrollment with college or university partners.

Frequently Asked Questions

At Ignite, curriculum is designed around the needs and expectations of business. This design allows Ignite to respond to a rapidly changing economy by seamlessly combining academics with career and technical education, and by combining that education with businesses and industry. Most Ignite classes are high school Career, Technical, and Agricultural (CTAE) electives and post-secondary dual enrollment courses.
Register for a course offered by Ignite during traditional high school registration. There are no application forms or prerequisite grade or GPA requirements. Ignite students are expected to work hard to choose and pursue a career and be good citizens. Enrollment is open to all SCHS students.
Complete registration at Sumter County High School as you do for all high school courses.
Ignite College and Career Academy shares a campus with Sumter County High School (SCHS). Students can take the school bus to and from Ignite or drive if they have a license.
Drivers will need a parking pass for SCHS.
CTAE stands for Career, Technical and Agricultural Education. These courses integrate core academic knowledge with technical and occupational skills to prepare students for post-secondary education and the workforce. CTAE courses are all high school elective courses. Completing a CTAE pathway involves passing three related courses in sequence, and sometimes also passing an End of Pathway Assessment.
Absolutely! Some students participate in more than one pathway if it works in their schedule.
Yes. Students typically choose pathways in consultation with a counselor, teachers, parents and career coaches, and even peer advice. Each student’s YouScience assessment is a free resource that provides excellent insight and options. Students may make changes in chosen pathways, but those changes usually take place in successive semesters or school years.
Yes, Ignite College and Career Academy offers career-related and academic pathway courses that can earn college credit for free. A student may earn up to 30 hours of free college/university credit while in high school.
Yes. Ignite students participate in sports and other extracurricular activities at SCHS.
Credits earned at Ignite are placed on each student’s SCHS high school transcript at the end of the school year.
Yes, Ignite adheres to the same dress code as Sumter County High School. Students are expected to dress and conduct themselves professionally on a daily basis. Ignite and SCHS students may also wear apparel with the Ignite logo. Some of this apparel will be designed by students.

If you are a student or a parent who needs more information about Ignite College and Career Academy, please call us at 229-931-8542 or talk to your high school guidance counselor. Regardless of your career or post-secondary education plans, Ignite is here for you!

Infinite Campus Parent Portal

If you are a business, contact our CEO, Josh Drew for more information about how we can help train your workforce and involve you as an Ignite partner.

If you are an educator, call us to see for yourself how our model for seamless education and workforce development can help you.

Career Counseling

All Sumter County students complete a six-year Individual Graduation Plan before entering high school. The district’s partnership with YouScience drives the development of those plans.

All Sumter County students take the YouScience assessment for free in 8th grade and as often as they want for the next ten years. The resulting 36-page report, combined with Ignite’s in-house counseling and volunteer career coaches from business and industry, encourages students to find a career they are interested in, learn how to qualify for that job, imagine what success will do for them, and “go for the prize.”

Ignite’s emphasis on work-based, project-based, and applied learning will turn on the “relevance factor” for students, as they take ownership of their own educations and plans for life.

Career Coaching

Our career coaching program helps middle and high school counselors and students. 70 Ignite business partners have volunteered to support students through organized counseling and mentoring programs.

Career Technical Student Organizations

Career Technical Student Organizations provide opportunities to students to learn from each other, to learn from local businesses and industry, and to work on projects both together and individually. Career Technical Student Organizations at Ignite College and Career Academy include:

  • Future Farmers of America (FFA)
  • Future Business Leaders of American (FBLA)
  • Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA)
  • Skills USA
  • Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)

What Parents and Students Need to Know About Work Ethic (also called “Soft Skills”)

By definition, work ethic/soft skills are personal attributes that enable people to interact effectively and harmoniously together and excel and succeed as self-sufficient, productive citizens. These traits include:

  • Attendance/Punctuality
  • Character
  • Teamwork
  • Appearance
  • Attitude (Critical Thinking)
  • Productivity
  • Organization Skills
  • Communication
  • Cooperation
  • Respect

Ignite College and Career Academy incorporates these skills into our curriculum in many ways. Each of our courses includes a soft skill grade that counts for 20% of each student’s overall grade. Our faculty teaches these work ethic skills by personally exhibiting each skill, as do our business partners. Students learn by example, and they also teach each other to be professional, positive, and focused on serving themselves by serving others.

Companies value such traits in workers because the capacity to speak and listen well, to understand other points of view, and to respond appropriately and in ways that consider others’ feelings ensure that people can work well together in teams. These skills also assure colleagues will be able to share ideas and respect each other in various work situations.

If anyone in the business community is interested in setting up a visit or being a part of our soft skill presentations, please contact us at: 229-931-8542.

Ignite College & Career Academy

903 South Georgia Tech Parkway, Americus, GA 31719
(229) 931-8500

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