DALTON, Ga. — Ask City Park School students Prachy Patel, Joycelynn Barajas, Juana Bautista and Dorka Ramirez how they would like to improve Dalton and they will tell you that building a resort alongside the lake at Haig Mill would be the way to go, and then they could show you the presentation they prepared to prove it.

The group of girls — dubbed Destination Girls — shared that vision, accompanied by a variety of charts, facts and figures, with students, teachers and city officials recently during the school’s STEP Club Innovation Showcase. The club is a girls-only organization that focuses on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), and the students worked with mentors from Shaw Industries as they researched and developed their ideas.

In all, seven groups of girls presented their ideas for ways to improve Dalton, ranging from a “Mad Maze” family entertainment complex to a diversity festival celebrating the cultures of Dalton’s citizens. After their formal showcase, the groups returned to the STEM Lab so that visitors could get an up-close look at their models and display materials and ask the students questions.

“We really wanted to narrow it down this year and focus on something community related,” explained Deanna Mathis, who does community outreach and corporate giving for Shaw. “So I was able to connect them with Rob Bradham and Believe Greater Dalton, since I have been a part of that from its inception, and really get the girls thinking about how to better their community, how to get involved in their community, and really think about the things they want to see in downtown Dalton.

“I think with City Park being so close to downtown the partnership was really perfect. I think a lot of them have learned about things that exist in downtown, they have dreamed about the things they want to see here, and hopefully they will be more engaged in their communities going forward, which is the ultimate goal.”

Lisa Cushman, who is the STEM Lab teacher at City Park and is in charge of the STEP Club, called the projects and presentations a resounding success because she can see the confidence her students have gained when they take their ideas and present them to adults. Additionally, the girls are taking the skills they learn in the classroom and putting them to use.

“That’s the biggest thing for me,” Cushman said. “All the things that I teach them in the regular STEM Lab — like problem solving, working with others, communication — they took all of those things and put it together to do their projects, and no one told them to do that. They pulled that experience from the STEM Lab out and used it for this situation, which I would love for anyone to be able to do. It’s been great.”

Among those in attendance were Bradham, president of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce, and Mayor Dennis Mock, and both had praise for the ideas presented, with Mock saying he was standing in a room full of city planners, adding that the girls had touched on ideas that have actually been discussed by city officials.

“I’m going to invite them to City Hall when I need to convince the council that we need to spend some money, and we already have the prototypes right here,” said Mock.

Bradham said the club members were asked to dream and they came up with bold ideas. He said the projects also help plant a seed in the students’ minds.

“What’s important is we engaged these young girls in the process of thinking about what they want in their community, and that’s a civic activity,” said Bradham. “It’s really important to get their thoughts at a young age about what they want in their community, to get them thinking about the fact that they can have an impact.”

Brian Cooksey, director of operations training at Shaw, said the program is a win for everyone and he’s glad his company can be involved.

“This fits very well with our company’s vision of creating a better future, and certainly we hope this helps our company, but we hope it helps these young ladies have better futures and helps our community have a better future,” said Cooksey. “It’s a great partnership with everyone coming together, and we get great results when that happens.”