Cleveland: ‘EHS addressing workforce needs’

“I’d like to say (Enterprise High School) does a phenomenal job addressing the workforce needs of its students,” Cleveland said.  “There is a diversity of program offerings here.”

In August, Alabama and six other states requested federal waivers from the No Child Left Behind Act.

This request, if approved federally, would change the focus of public education from Adequate Yearly Progress standards to college and career readiness for all students through Plan 2020.

“Our state superintendent, Tommy Bice, came up with Plan 2020, which focuses on credentialing for students,” Cleveland said. “The credentials are obtained through a career technical program, where the students’ skills are verified through a third party.”

Cleveland said the third party would likely be an industry partner in the field students’ career technical programs are targeted toward.

“This goes beyond the teachers to an industry partner that can say ‘this is the level of expertise a student needs to be useful in this industry,’” Cleveland said. “We want to start going toward the credentialing route with students so they can be successful when they get out of high school. One mark of success is that industry credential.”

Cleveland said career technical education would become more important to local school systems in the future because those student credentials will assist a system in meeting the graduation requirements for the state.

Cleveland said another one of Enterprise High School’s attributes is the emphasis it puts on student leadership organizations.

“Our Industry partners tell us all the time to develop those communication and work ethic skills. That’s what student organizations are all about,” he said. “This school is doing an excellent job embracing that.”

Cleveland said the new avionics and health science programs at EHS are great ways to improve high-wage outcomes for students.

“I really have seen a lot of out-of-the-box thinking with the career tech offerings here and I plan to use this as a model that I can then get other people in the state to replicate,” Cleveland said. “I’m excited about what I’ve been able to see and spreading the word about what you’re doing here in Enterprise.”