Members of the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce got an update on the county’s schools Friday afternoon during the chamber’s annual Community Luncheon.

Cullman City Schools Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff and Cullman County Schools Superintendent Shane Barnette spoke about their systems and shared some of the exciting programs and projects that are happening in the area’s schools.

He said the city school system had 3,220 students enrolled as of Thursday, with the highest grade enrollments being in ninth grade with 274 students and kindergarten with 263.

Kallhoff, who took over as the system’s superintendent in April after working as superintendent of the Demopolis City School System and the Chickasaw City School System, said he has always focused on making his school system one of the best in the state at those previous stops.

He said the Cullman City School System has already been recognized as one of the state’s best, and while the system was ranked 11th in the state in the most recent rankings released by Niche.com, the system’s faculty and staff are not going to rest on their laurels.

“Some school systems would say ‘Yes, 11th, let’s get cake and have balloons,’ but not this school system, which is what I like about it and why I’m happy to be here,” he said.

Kallhoff also spoke about some of the programs that have recently been implemented in the city’s schools, including an arts program that starts in the primary school and expands into art, music and theatre programs through the elementary, middle and high school.

“To be in a rural area and offer these types of art programs is impressive, so that’s something that we should hang our hat on,” he said.

On the academic side, the city school system has 12 Advanced Placement tracks and a dual enrollment program with Wallace State Community College, Kallhoff said.

The system’s career tech programs have also been expanding, with a new health explorations program added to the middle school to let younger students learn about opportunities in the medical field, he said.

The system also has dyslexia programs featuring dedicated teachers to work with dyslexic students beginning in the primary school and going through high school, along with reading coaches at the primary and elementary schools who work side-by-side with teachers to observe lessons and develop the best teaching methods.

Kallhoff said the Cullman City School System has used some of the federal ESSER funds provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act and the American Rescue Plan Act to hire math coaches to work a similar role with the system’s math teachers and interventionists to work with students who may be struggling with certain subjects.

ESSER funds have also been used to hire mental health specialists to provide better mental health care for the system’s students, he said.

“That will have a huge impact,” he said. “Mental health in students and adults is a real thing that needs to be addressed, and it can be the difference between a lower tier school system and a top tier.”

The city school system recently revealed a $38 million plan for capital projects on each schools’ campus and Kallhoff shared some of the details about those.

At Cullman Middle School, 18 new classrooms will be added, along with a new library, an agriscience area, a performing arts area and administrative offices, as well as the removal of the school’s round building.

At Cullman City Primary School, the plan is to add a 12-classroom wing, a multipurpose building and a new cafeteria to that campus.

East Elementary and West Elementary each have $2 million allocated for renovations and construction, and while those plans are still being developed, one of the options for East Elementary is the addition of a multi-purpose gathering place big enough for students and their families, Kallhoff said.

After the completion of those projects, the city’s sixth grade would be moved from the elementary schools to the middle school, and the second grade would be moved from the elementary schools to the primary school, he said.

Kallhoff also asked the audience to reach out to any educators they know and share some words of encouragement for working through the challenges they have faced over the last couple years and the work that they continue to do.

“Words of affirmation mean a lot right now for a lot of our educators,” he said.

Barnette opened his portion of the luncheon by echoing the same sentiment as Kallhoff, and said works of encouragement may not be enough to express appreciation for some of the schools’ staff members.

“If you know a school nurse, don’t just text them, if you could, buy them a new car,” he said. “They are incredible right now.”

Barnette said enrollment has increased from last year to around 9,500 students across the county system’s campuses.

He also shared another bit of news that he said he has been very excited about and has been telling just about everyone he speaks to: the system’s graduation rate.

The Cullman County School System’s graduation rate has increased every year for the past six years, and was more than 95 percent for 2020, Barnette said.

“That is something you should applaud,” he said.

One way that the system has improved its graduation rate in recent years is the continued development of partnerships with local businesses and industries and encouraging students to follow the best path for them.

Barnette said not every student has to go to a four-year college right out of high school, especially with Wallace State located here in Cullman County, and the main goal for the system is to make sure students graduate with the right tools to go to work and contribute to society.

To share that goal with the rest of the system, he said he has recently developed a new slogan.

“I’ve been saying, ‘I don’t care what you do, just get a W-2,’” he said. “And I honestly believe that in my heart.”

Barnette said the state began measuring students’ college and career readiness five years ago as a way to make sure students are prepared to either go to college or enter the workforce when they graduate high school, and the county school system’s readiness rate has risen from 72 percent five years ago to 99.04 percent at last measure.

That improvement has been driven by the focus by the system to encourage students to attend Wallace State or find one of the many good jobs available in the county’s industries, Barnette said.

Barnette said the system also used ESSER funds to bring the We Build It Better program to the county, which provides a toolbox full of tools and technology for students to familiarize themselves with their use and work on a project from the planning stages to completion.

He said the system has also worked to provide Advanced Placement in many of its high schools, and has partnered with Wallace State for dual enrollment programs.

“We’re really excited that we have about 25 or 30 kids who graduate from Wallace about a week before they graduate from their high school every year,” he said.

Barnette said the county school system has also put a greater emphasis on mental health.

“If anybody thinks that this is not real, you don’t understand,” he said.

To address those needs, the system has been able to have a mental health coordinator and hired four social workers to meet with kids and work with local agencies to address some of the issues they may be facing at home.

“It’s so important for us that we meet these needs because it’s hard for us to teach kids math and reading when their family and their home life is in a mess,” he said.

Barnette said there are projects taking place all around the county, with each campus having some kind of work being done.

He said some of the bigger upcoming projects include a 16 classroom expansion and new lunchroom at Hanceville Elementary, a new office, library and gym at Good Hope Middle School and a new gym at Cold Springs High School.

The system’s schools are also having new LED lighting installed, and the installation of HVAC systems in the county’s high school gyms is nearly complete, he said.

Barnette said schools have faced — and are continuing to face — a lot of challenges related to the pandemic, but the people of the area can still look at the county’s schools to see how they have continued to grow and improve through that adversity.

“We’re going to achieve, we’re going to overcome this and we’re going to be better because of it,” he said. “Regardless of the challenge that we’re facing right now, you should be proud that you live in Cullman County because we’re doing great things.”