FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, April 28, 2005

Chambliss, Isakson Announce Education Funding for Darton College

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today announced that Darton College in Albany, Georgia will receive $644,800 from the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Directed Grants Program.

The funds will be used by Darton College and partnering organizations in the Darton Rural Technology Network (DRTN) to expand a distance learning collaborative for the associate degree program in allied health technology, to expand technology collaborations with rural health districts and county health officers, to provide on-site job readiness and retraining programs to promote career ladders for rural workers, and to provide teacher technology training opportunities to develop highly qualified classroom teachers in accordance with the No Child Left Behind education initiative.

Darton College's allied health and nursing programs provide southwest Georgia with most of its health professionals - including 70 percent of all the nurses in Albany hospitals and 31 percent of all registered nurses in the hospitals of 38 southwest Georgia counties. The goal of the Darton Rural Technology Network is to improve health, education, and career outlooks in rural Georgia.

“I am pleased to announce these important funds that will go so far to improve our rural communities and rural health care in Georgia,” said Chambliss.  “I am honored to assist Darton College and the Darton Rural Technology Network in their efforts to make our communities better places to live.”

“These funds for Darton College and the Darton Rural Technology will give rural residents the necessary education, resources, and training to improve healthcare and education in their communities,” Isakson said. “I will continue working to ensure Georgia communities receive these important types of funds.”

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