BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. (December 18, 2018) – Colonels teaching Colonels; in a few short weeks, a retired lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force will help navigate a select group of Cass High School Colonels through one of the top 10 career fields in America: Cybersecurity.
“This new distance learning opportunity will allow our students to earn three technology certifications, CompTIA A+, Network +, and Security +, by the time they graduate,” says Bartow County School System Superintendent Dr. Phillip Page. “No other high school program in Georgia offers all three credentials. The cybersecurity sector is growing by the day, and by partnering with CyberTec Academy and Georgia State Senator Bruce Thompson, who is a chairman on the Senate Science and Technology committee, we are giving Bartow County students a distinct advantage over others entering the workforce.”
“These students will immediately enter into the workforce as ‘high demand’ candidates with salaries ranging from $32-35,000 a year,” says Senator Thompson. “With about 300,000 cyber positions currently unfilled in the United States, it was imperative to have the technical colleges and universities develop curriculum.”
December 18, 2018, the first cohort of 25 students will sign and commit to the course, which will officially launch on January 8, 2019. CyberTec Academy, a Nevada-based company owned by R. “Montana” Williams, a retired lieutenant colonel, will simultaneously train and certify a Cass High School instructor and the first cohort virtually. At the end of the 2018-19 school year, the school system hopes to certify other instructors and model a similar, non-virtual, state-funded program at each Bartow County high school.
More about R. “Montana” Williams: From 2010 to 2015, Williams worked for the White House and the Department of Homeland Security to create and direct the daily operations of the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) program. He is the globe’s foremost expert in cybersecurity training and workforce development. In that role, he architected the National Cybersecurity Workforce Framework which has become the global standard for training program creation for current and future cybersecurity professionals. In addition, he created the Federal Virtual Training Environment, built the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies Portal, oversaw the DHS/NSA Centers of Academic Excellence Program for Cybersecurity, and directed execution of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
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