The last 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic have changed everything from how we interact with our friends and families to how we work at our jobs. It has specifically affected classroom learning and instruction not only for Madison City schools but all schools. Teachers and students have remained flexible and creative in order to prepare and deliver content and make sure our students never fell behind. As the career coach, it was a little more challenging to not be able to do many in-person events. My main focus is helping students figure out a post-secondary plan. This includes bridging the gap between Madison City students and our local business and industries. Fortunately, during the 2021-2022 school year, there were more opportunities for the normalcy we were used to in previous years.
Madison City was blessed to have overwhelming community support for several events this school year. Between Bob Jones and James Clemens, Madison City hosted 130 industry volunteers from over 45 different companies. They coached and mentored students through mock interviews, career panels, field trips, and classroom visits. 364 students participated in a mock interview this year, and 422 students were able to sit in on a professional career panel. Over 275 students created/improved a resume, and 95 students were exposed to a college campus or industry site visit. These interactions are so important because they allow students to connect their curriculum to a career, which is the ultimate goal of high school. These skill and experiences will prove to be invaluable to them as they progress in their lives.
This year, Madison City Schools also had 20 students who took the Accuplacer exam for college placement. Students who do not hit college benchmarks in English and Math on the ACT can take Accuplacer to determine course placement at Calhoun, Drake State, or any other community college in the state. Normally, students have to travel to the college campus to test, but this year 21 students from Bob Jones and James Clemens were able to test in their respective media centers---they never left their own high school campus. The partnership with Calhoun removed the barrier of transportation or any other issues with getting to a college campus to test, and students had an easier way to access the exam because it was done at school.
Finally, we are extremely excited that 5 of our seniors received full time job offers after graduation this year! We have seniors headed to work at Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Turner Construction, and Huntsville Hospital. These are life changing career pathways for these graduating seniors. These opportunities were created by the interactions created during this school year, and we look forward to continuing to grow in every area to best serve all students. I can't wait to see what our students will achieve next school year!
