Tom Sisk

It’s hard to believe school is about to start. It seems like just yesterday we celebrated graduation with the class of 2019.

Where has the summer gone? In Limestone County, we have been working hard to welcome back well over 10,000 students both in traditional and nontraditional programs.

Our staff has worked hard to prepare our buildings for another exciting start to school. Soon, we will be visiting each other on our football fields and volleyball gyms.

Soon, our schools will once again come alive with activity. I would certainly like to take this opportunity to welcome all of our students back. I truly hope you have had a fun, relaxing summer and that you are returning to us ready to learn.

We will be introducing a number of new course offerings this fall. We are excited to announce expanded relationships with area and regional partners in education. Many of our teachers have gone back to school over the summer to learn new and exciting things to share with our students. The excitement is definitely building.

Last year, we saw significant growth in the number of college credits earned by our students and the trend suggests even greater growth this year. We maintained one of the highest graduation rates in our state.

This year, we will be taking time to Celebrate Alabama. In the weeks and months ahead, we will be sharing with our families how they can take part in the fun.

You will see a renewed emphasis in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and the Arts. We have been working to expand student electives this year through partnerships with Edgenuity, a software platform for online learning.

We will see significant growth at our Career Tech Center as preliminary enrollment is up by over 200. This year, we will launch the Cyber Patriot program, which teaches students cyber warfare and prepares them for a number of growing job fields. We are working to expand our advanced agricultural offerings this fall, and we are partnering with Athens City Schools on a number of fronts.

So as school is about to start, I want to close by simply saying, “Welcome back!”

— Sisk is the superintendent of Limestone County Schools. He can be reached at tom.sisk@lcsk12.org.