Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsGeorgia School Superintendent Richard Woods talks with Dalton High School junior Jyuan Jenkins as Jenkins paints a watercolor portrait in his drawing class on Wednesday.

DALTON, Ga. — Analy Camarillo and Christian Perez proudly showed off a wall of trophies on Wednesday won by themselves and their fellow members of Dalton High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.

“These are for competitions we have won in shooting, drill and Raider,” said Perez.

Raider is a multi-event contest that tests cadets in physical fitness, land navigation, cross country running and other military-style skills.

They were showing the trophies off to Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods as he toured Dalton High.

“How has it (JROTC) prepared you for life?” asked Woods.

“It has prepared me to face challenges,” said Perez. “It has taught me teamwork, and it has shown me that when we work together we can overcome those challenges.”

“Is teamwork essential for everything that you do?” asked Woods.

“Always,” said Perez.

“My dad was in the Navy for 20 years, so I appreciate your commitment,” Woods said. “I wish this program was in every high school.”

JROTC was one of several programs Woods visited. He stopped in teacher Trevor Ledford’s drawing class.

“This is the first time I’ve had a state superintendent visit, and I’m happy that this is one of the programs he is visiting,” Ledford said. “There’s always a lot of focus on math and English and science — the core subjects. But I think it shows the arts are important, too.”

Junior Jyuan Jenkins, one of Ledford’s students, said he was glad that Woods came to the class.

“I know that some schools aren’t able to have programs like this, and I’m glad that he got to see what a diverse group of students are in here,” Jenkins said.

Woods also visited teacher Melissa Lambert’s ceramics class.

“They are a really dedicated and talented group of students,” Lambert said.

Woods video

Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce President Rob Bradham joined Woods as he toured the school.

“We feel like we have a great high school here in Dalton High School and a great school district. We are glad the state school superintendent chose to visit us, and we are proud to show off what we are doing here,” Bradham said.

Bradham said he was glad that Woods was getting to see some of the school’s arts programs as well as visiting career, technical and agricultural education (CTAE) programs such as engineering, culinary arts and early childhood care.

“We want to create well-rounded people. Obviously, we want our graduates to be able to get jobs, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and CTAE allow that to happen. But we also want people who can appreciate other aspects of life,” Bradham said. “Having said that, there are aspects of our art programs that can translate to work as well. We have a number of creative folks who work here as designers and artists for our large employers.”

Woods said he was pleased to see the many options Dalton High offers to students.

“Not everyone fits into the same box,” he said.