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Alongside recognizing its teachers of the year at its February school board meeting, Lanett City Schools recognized its career tech classes, as February is designated as Career Technical Education month in Alabama.

The board watched a video presentation detailing the programs and certifications that Lanett offers its students.

“CTE Month is a public awareness campaign that takes place each February to celebrate the value of CTE, and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs around the country,” Career Tech Director Hilda Carlisle said during the presentation. “Career and Technical Education offers our students here at Lanett High School an academic foundation along with technical skills and some hands-on experience that prepares students for college and or [be] career-ready with an industry-recognized credential or certification. CTE programs offer our community and our businesses skilled employees. Taking a CTE class allows our students the opportunity to determine if a career choice is a good fit for them while they are still in high school.”

Students are offered a wide variety of career technical classes that will provide them with a certification at the completion of the program.

Carlisle teaches business management and administration, which includes business technology applications, along with its advanced classes, and longtime media design.

“In this program, students can earn a Microsoft Office Specialist certification validating their skills,” Carlisle said. “Students are also encouraged to join Future Business Leaders of America. FBLA members demonstrate their leadership skills through community service projects, fundraising activities and chapter competitions.”

LHS also offers family and consumer sciences, where students can receive the ServSafe certification, which is needed for students trying to enter the food industry.

“The goal for my classes is that I provide students with knowledge and skills that they can take with them in the rest of their lives to be successful,” said Bella Mitchell, family and consumer sciences teacher.

LHS also offers a JROTC program. In the program, students can take Leadership and Foundations for success and Success for Life.

“The idea of our program is to make our cadets better citizens and arm them with the things they need to go out in life and be successful,” Lieutenant Colonel retired Christopher McCain said.

“It is not our intent for students to join the military. We want them to be successful in whatever they choose to do in life.”

Along with taking classes at Lanett High School, students are permitted to take classes at Inspire Academy during the school day if LHS does not have the desired class.

“The majority of our students understand the value of the CTE classes, and they enroll in a CTE program while they are here in high school,” Carlisle said.

In other discussion, LCS Superintendent Jennifer Boyd updated the board on the number of positive COVID-19 cases in the system. Since the board meeting on Jan. 11, Lanett has reported two student cases and six staff cases. Overall there have been 22 positive student cases and 15 staff cases in the LCS system since Aug. 12.

“Certainly that’s not anything to brag about, since we want those cases to be zero, but I feel that we have been able to mitigate the spread because of the practices that we’ve had in place,” Boyd said.

Boyd also said the LCS’s top priority in its capital plan is the roofing project at the Lanett Junior and High School. The other projects detailed in the capital plan may be rearranged due to the Feb. 1 fire that wiped out the LHS field house.

“Our facilities were heavily damaged from the fire,” Boyd said.

“Right now, our athletic teams don’t really have any exposure to anything. That area is off-limits. We don’t even have essential utilities in that area. We are still very early in the initial phase of the recovery. I can’t tell you at this particular time what we’re going to do. We’re still working with the insurance company. Once they have assessed the loss, we can better gauge what our options are going to be. This has been a small stumbling block. I do know one thing: Lanett will bounce back because we always do.”