Work Ethics Distinctions

The "Work Ethic Distinction" is a workforce readiness credential that can be earned by high school seniors in participating counties. Students who earn the Work Ethic Distinction will be given preference for job interviews at partnering employers if they meet all other qualifications of the job posting.

Participating students will receive a list of Work Ethic Distinction Standards which includes 14 achievement categories. Each achievement category has one, two, or three subcategories that are assigned a point value. Students who sign up for the Work Ethic Distinction must complete enough of the goals set out in the achievement categories to score 32 points in order to receive the Distinction.

Giles County Schools partnered with Giles Leadership to establish a Work Ethics program to reward hardworking students who demonstrate the work ethic that local industry and post-secondary institutions value. The work ethics distinction was an initiative that began statewide several years ago, but we wanted to tailor it to meet the county's individual needs. The purpose of the Work Ethics Distinction is a program that Giles County Schools and Giles Leadership have collaborated on to increase the efficiency of the pipeline to employment in Giles County and recognize students with the work ethic needed to succeed. Giles Leadership, a Giles County Chamber of Commerce program, worked diligently to provide guidance, raise scholarship funds, and develop an overall vision for the project. Students who graduate with this credential illustrate that they are prepared to enter the workforce or successfully transition to college. GCBOE and the Giles leadership team collaborated to develop 12 work ethic standards that local industry values as a desired trait in their employees. The 12 work ethic standards are centered around attendance, tardiness, discipline, being drug-free, GPA, CTE coursework, CTE CTSO competitions, Post-secondary exploration, dual enrollment credits, employment, enlistment, and enrolled status, career readiness standard through ACT benchmark scores, and industry awareness through job shadowing, internships, and community service. Fifty-four senior students met the requirements to be recognized. Finally, the Giles Leadership Group partnered with various sponsors across our great county to provide a $4,000 scholarship to two students, one from each school, who earned the work Ethics Distinction! Our winners were Haley Jones from Giles County High School and Mohra Davaloz from Richland School.