Career and Technical Education

Greetings,

I hope your semester is going well and you are off to an excellent start. As you continue to focus on program growth and improvement, please be sure to work toward completing your TAPE compliance requirements. For August, September, and in October, these are the following items that should be completed.

• Students provided with course syllabi.
• Establish student folders for safety tests, IEPs, and CTIPs.
• CTSO Meeting and Officers should be established.
• Safety Tests given with 100% proficiency.
• Make sure you have all Career Tech Implementation Plans for students that receive services.
• Advisory Committee invites, meeting date established, and first meeting completed.
• CTSO Program of Work plan with officer signatures.

I appreciate all your hard work and dedication to making great learning experiences for your students. Have a restful and enjoyable fall break.

With much gratitude,

Zac

Greenpower students at HCT are off to a fast start this year. Returning students are on a mission to build a custom car. They are starting with a partial aluminum chassis that was designed and built by Grissom students several years ago. So far, students have modeled suspension mounting tabs, seatbelt mounting tabs, rear axle mounting brackets, a floor pan, and the rear axle. We plan to collaborate with HCT welding, HCT machining, and Drake State Machining programs to complete the project.

On Saturday, September 26th, the Grissom High School JROTC Tiger Battalion hosted the 1st Annual Tiger Gauntlet Raider Challenge, welcoming 16 Raider teams from across Alabama for a full day of competition, teamwork, leadership, and physical endurance.

The competition challenged cadets through six demanding Raider events designed to test their strength, speed, endurance, teamwork, and ability to perform under pressure. Teams competed in the 1.25-Mile Team Run, Rope Bridge, Obstacle Course, Raider Fitness Challenge.

Throughout the day, cadets demonstrated the determination and teamwork that make Raider competitions unique. From navigating the Rope Bridge and completing the Obstacle Course to working together during the Cross Country Rescue (running with 30-40lb rucks and carrying 90-150lb litters), and pushing through the Raider Fitness Challenge, each event required competitors to rely on one another and maintain focus from start to finish.

Grissom JROTC would like to thank all 16 teams, coaches, volunteers, parents, supporters,and community partners who helped make the Tiger Gauntlet a successful event. Most importantly, we are proud of all the Raiders who competed and represented their school

Grissom High School senior Olivia Moore is putting her creativity and communication skills to work through her Work-Based Learning experience with Daniels Photography. As a social media manager, Olivia creates behind-the-scenes content, manages Instagram content, and is helping develop a marketing campaign. Her supervisor describes Olivia as reliable, positive, collaborative, and “super proficient,” making the most of her hours each week. Recently, Olivia worked alongside photographer Daniels Photography during a senior photo session with fellow Grissom senior Maddie, capturing behind-the-scenes content while building valuable real-world marketing and digital media skills. Olivia’s experience is a great example of how Work-Based Learning allows students to turn their talents and interests into meaningful career experiences.

August and September have been busy months for the Hospitality and Tourism Pathway. The students have been recruiting potential members for FCCLA, preparing the potential officers for the campaigning process and establishing a club meeting schedule for the year. September 3, 2026, eight students attended the Academy of Chapter Excellence (ACE) Conference at the Renaissance Shoals Conference Center, Florence AL. The conference used a Toy Story theme to guide the participants through a series of activities. The individual sessions focused on leadership qualities, empowering CTSO members, promoting your CTSO and networking opportunities. All of these students are enrolled in FACS classes with Mrs. Black, Mrs. Lesueur or Ms. Chandler.

The students attendees are listed from left to right: Hayden Will, Carter Nall, Jackson Rigney, Juliana Wester, Regan Shuttinger, Raegan Burks, Staci Simonovich and Camar Derrick.

The Hospitality and Tourism students completed a themed project several weeks ago. The theme, “I am a Fan of Hospitality” was carried out by decorating fans with the various components of Hospitality. The fans are hanging around the classroom and were a great hit with parents during Open House, September 3, 2026.

The Advisory Committee for the Hospitality and Tourism Pathway met Thursday, September 10, 2026 at Huntsville High School in room 284. The meeting began at 4:35 pm and ended at 6:50 pm. The following committee members were present: Teresa White Taylor (Yedla Hotels), Deborah White (Purple Door Meetings), Sharon Snell (Huntsville Convention and Visitors Bureau), and Vanessa Chandler (HCS). Absent members were Jade Chappell (Marketing Director of Chick Fil A) and Matthew Hodge (Senior Event Manager, VBC). The committee members were presented with an agenda and several handouts pertaining to the role of the advisory committee and the committee leadership components. During the meeting, the Program of Work was developed and includes the following ideas:

● Soliciting local professionals to come and teach the students about workplace and social dress expectations

● Incorporate a weekly “Professional Dress Day” in all courses; add it to the syllabus as a requirement. The students created a fan of hospitality project- it was suggested to select several fans and incorporate them in a t-shirt for fundraising

● Connect the H&T classes with community commercial kitchens to implement ALSDE COS

● Advisory committee members take the lead to plan and execute field trips for students All in all, it has been a busy and fun first month of school.

Recently, my students had to find a real business that made an unethical decision and create a presentation to present in front of the class on. They had to research what happened, explain why it was unethical, identify stakeholders that were affected, and determine what the business could have done differently. Students also had to dress professionally, which factored into their grade. Besides gaining a deeper understanding of doing business ethically, students also learned about public speaking fundamentals and strategies for performing well.

Blake Davis

Tawayne Whitt

Simona Carmickle

Emerson Toc

The 988 hotline is a resource that students can utilize if they are in a crisis or feel suicidal, and have no one to talk to. One of our counselors had mentioned that our school district would like to get the word out more to our student body that this helpful resource is available to them, and she asked if any HHS digital marketing teachers would be interested in having their classes take this on as a project. My students worked in groups for this brand awareness campaign where they each had to: pick a student population to target their message towards (i.e. band, theater, athletes etc) - which was a suggestion from our counselor, identify a particular pressure or difficult situation that population would have (i.e. athletes struggling with managing grades and performing well at games and practices), think about the supportive/reassuring idea that would resonate with these students, and come up with a campaign headline/main message. Students could choose from creating an infographic, social media graphic, or a 30-second video. Our counselor will share selected marketing pieces with our student body, and may also shar

• Xayier Cade, Sam Davis, Malaysia Love

• Kamron Brice and Caleb Aston

Trenten Rider and Robert Whitfield

The 988 hotline is a resource that students can utilize if they are in a crisis or feel suicidal, and have no one to talk to. One of our counselors had mentioned that our school district would like to get the word out more to our student body that this helpful resource is available to them, and she asked if any HHS digital marketing teachers would be interested in having their classes take this on as a project. My students worked in groups for this brand awareness campaign where they each had to: pick a student population to target their message towards (i.e. band, theater, athletes etc) - which was a suggestion from our counselor, identify a particular pressure or difficult situation that population would have (i.e. athletes struggling with managing grades and performing well at games and practices), think about the supportive/reassuring idea that would resonate with these students, and come up with a campaign headline/main message. Students could choose from creating an infographic, social media graphic, or a 30-second video. Our counselor will share selected marketing pieces with our student body, and may also share with the district.

The New Century Tech High School CTE Digital Technology Cluster had the largest number of students ever this year to compete in the National Cyber Summit: Cyber Cup Challenge at the VBC in Huntsville, AL, on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. Students from both the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Pathway and the Computer Science Pathway were allowed to compete on teams made up of up to 4 people to go against other high schools and even colleges brought in from around the United States for this special National Cyber Summit Event that has become a staple of the week-long hallmark of this intelligence community convention each year. Teams are challenged by a team of elite professionals who spend the year between events creating new sets of questions that utilize analyzing various types of logs, a deep understanding of speciality equipment, and a strong recognition of mathematical patterns as they emerge and are brought to the forefront as the competition progresses throughout the day.

New Century once again had a team that fought hard to rise above the rest with a team made up of all Juniors (known as The Cyber 2 Cr3w) taking 4th Place this year. We're all looking forward to what this team will achieve next year after having an additional year of practice and honing of skills under their belts. The other three teams all had an amazing learning experience that brought together real-world skills in a national convention setting to allow every student the chance to compete at an event on the national stage.

The student competitors were also given the opportunity to return to the National Cyber Summit the next day on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, to visit the Exhibits and Vendor Booths to start the process of networking and learning about what the Huntsville and national United States technology and intelligence job market as to offer them as they prepare for their lives after high school.

988- Suicide and Crisis Hotline

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7 call, text and chat access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing suicidal, substance use, and/or mental health crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress. People can also dial 988 if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

On Friday, September 18th, Mae C. Jemison High School took a group of young ladies to the annual Jill of All Trades Event, hosted by Wallace State Community College.

The day began with breakfast and a panel discussion about women in trades. They were given matching shirts and book bags, and divided into small groups which they travelled to sessions with. The sessions included Diesel, Aeronautics, CDL, Carpentry, Mechatronics, and Welding, just to name a few.

After lunch they spoke with different industries and ended with a raffle, where three of our young ladies took home prizes. Thanks to Senator Sam Givhan for sponsoring the field trip, Shatara Lane, Shatiyyah Lateef, and Mr. Jackson for chaperoning.

Email: zachary.mcwhorter@hsv-k12.org

Website: hcs.org/district/career-technical-education

Location: 2603 North Memorial Parkway, Huntsville, AL, 35810

Administrative Assistant/Office Manager: Jan Minor

256-428-7810 (ext. 96103)