Limestone County’s top school chiefs on Thursday gave the business community a look at where their school systems have been, where they are and where they’re going.

Presentations by Athens City Schools Superintendent Dr. Trey Holladay and Limestone County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tom Sisk were part of State of Education luncheon presented by the Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce. The event was held on the Athens State University campus in the Sandridge Student Center.

“These are exciting times for our public school system,” Chamber President Jennifer Williamson said prior to introducing the school leaders. “Schools are working to provide the best educational opportunities and experiences for our students.”

Holladay and Sisk made growth a big part of their presentations. Both men will fly this month to Quantico, Virginia, to meet with representatives with the FBI, which will be relocating about 4,000 workers to Redstone Arsenal. Sisk and Holladay will be part of a group that will explain school options and available programs.

Athens High School

In looking back, Holladay spoke highly of the new Athens High School, which opened in January. He also praised the facility’s new 760-seat theater, which is now being used by the Athena Performing Arts Series for concerts.

In talking numbers, Holladay said enrollment is now at 4,495 students. He added the system would have total revenues of $43,477,233 and expenditures of $43,474,806 in the current fiscal year.

The system has a 91% graduation rate and an average ACT score of 20.4, which is above the state average of 19.1.

“We test everybody on the ACT, so it’s a misnomer when you (compare) us to other states,” he said. “Fifty-five percent of our kids go to college, and 45% don’t. This is a college entrance exam, but the (kids who don’t go to college) take it, too.”

The system recently switched its model of report cards away from the traditional letter-grade model to using a 1, 2, 3 or 4 to mark a student’s mastery of certain educational standards.

Athens City Schools is comprised of eight schools, some of which Holladay said are bursting at the seams. A new Athens Elementary School has been approved, and Holladay said site work was already underway. He anticipated demolition of the old school to begin after the first of the year.

Holladay said Athens Intermediate School would need to expand or move students to the old Clinton Street campus, which is now being used by Athens Elementary and Athens Renaissance schools. Athens Renaissance has outgrown its campus in the old public library on South Street.

“Within 12 months, we hope to break ground on a new addition to expand Athens Renaissance School,” he said. “We’ll need it at the rate we’re growing.”

Holladay said the system’s academy approach at its elementary schools has been a success. He added it was popular with parents because they can enroll their child in any school within the system.

“That helps real estate, because now you don’t have people trying to buy houses in certain elementary school zones, because you can go to any zone you want,” he said.

In closing, Holladay gave a brief overview of the system’s strategic plan, dubbed “Portrait of a Graduate.” He said the plan has six areas of focus in terms of educating students: character, citizenship, collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity.

“We want to prepare students for all that is coming up in the Tennessee Valley,” he said.

He also shared the school’s theme is “Growing better together: Eight schools, one heartbeat, one Athens.”

“We’re excited about the vision going on in the school system, and we hope you are, too,” he said.

Limestone County Schools

While Holladay addressed growth and planning, Sisk explained his system had a renewed focus on technology while also strengthening its current technical education programs.

He said the system has adopted the theme of “All Kids Can,” and plans and strategies would reflect that. For example, a new pilot program utilizes a robot and an iPad, so a child who cannot physically attend school can do so remotely.

“This kind of innovation in technology is one of the things we are quickly being known for,” he said.

Another big piece of the school’s efforts to educate kids, however, is its ability to keep students safe.

Sisk lauded the system’s campus safety efforts, which includes an armed Limestone County sheriff’s deputy at each school, the deployment of 900 SafeDefend boxes and the Rave Panic Button, which is a partnership with the Athens-Limestone E911 center.

“Campus safety occurs because of partnerships,” he said. “We have to be able to act rapidly, and it takes time to get to different locations, so it’s important we have those partnerships.”

Sisk said Limestone County Schools still has the top career tech center in the state, and he predicted it would continue to grow as new industries demand more skilled labor. He again credited partnerships with the county’s legislative delegation, local industries and Calhoun Community College for the center’s success.

The LCCTC is also increasing its efforts to maintain interest among female students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, Sisk said.

“We had a manufacturing camp with powder puff mechanics, and we had great participation in those activities,” he said.

In discussing curriculum, Sisk said all county schools are involved in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative, or AMSTI, and the A+ College Ready E3 program, which stands for Equip, Empower and Expect More.

He’s proud of the system’s Advanced Placement efforts and said East Limestone and West Limestone high schools were two of six high schools in Alabama to be chosen by the Alabama Department of Education for excellence in AP courses. He said the same two schools have again been singled out by the state board for their AP efforts.

Another growth area is the system’s two virtual schools, one of which is in-house. The other, Alabama Connections Academy, is anticipated to reach enrollment of more than 2,400 students this year.

Talking systemwide accolades, Sisk said Limestone County Schools had a graduation rate of 94%, which ranked second behind Madison City Schools in North Alabama. He said the system’s College and Career Readiness grade was 83.86%, which was fifth in the state.

“I have to commend the 700-plus teachers in Limestone County that go to work every day and do the best they can,” he said. “We are challenged to meet the growth, but we are up to that challenge because we have great partnerships in this room.”