Montgomery School Stands Out For Career Tech Focus

State Superintendent Tommy Bice is touring schools across the state that are thinking outside the box.

One of them is a standout in Montgomery.

MPACT stands for Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies.

It’s getting students ready for careers in areas like fire science and electrical engineering.

This is the first year for the program, and State Superintendent Tommy Bice was stunned.

“Every single program that I went into, every child was engaged in real world learning. When asked what they were doing and why they were doing it they could explain it. There was no teacher or adult trying to manage their learning. They were engaged on their own,” said Bice.

Many of these students will leave these halls with a certification, ready to work as plumber or an A/C repair worker.
For some, it’s a chance at something they won’t find at a four year university.

“I’m learning welding, but it’s very very different from a regular school because you get a lot of things combined in each other at this one school. You get your education plus you earn a trade so you have a bonus on life once you graduate,” said Gregory Williams, a senior at the school.

Williams is graduating this year and plans to get a bachelors degree, funded in part by his work as a welder.

Next year, even more students could have the same opportunity as Williams.

The school is moving to One Center, located at the old Montgomery Mall.

“It mainly gives us the space we need. The classrooms, the lab space, all this is hands on and you just need certain amounts of space and ventilation for the equipment and voltage. We’ll have all those kinds of things at our fingertips,” said Cindy Veazey, Career Tech Director.

This year there are about 250 students enrolled. Next year they hope to add at least 100 more.