Several schools around Cullman County played host to Alabama State Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey Friday as he makes his way around the state to get to know teachers and students.

Mackey, along with Deputy State Superintendent Jeff Langham and Alabama State Board of Education member Cynthia McCarty, toured schools in both the Cullman City and Cullman County School districts, which included a stop at the Cullman Area Technology Academy.

During their visit to the CATA, the group looked in on some of the school’s career and technical education programs, including health sciences, precision machining and engineering technology, and were fed a lunch from the CATA culinary arts program.

From his tour of Cullman County, Mackey said he had a good impression of the area’s schools.

“I am so impressed with what’s going on here,” he said. “It’s a very impressive place.”

He said he was particularly impressed with how well the county is doing while being a place that does not get a lot of funding.

“It’s not the highest funded place in the state, but they obviously think outside the box to make sure they can provide their students with the best opportunities possible on a very limited budget,” he said. “That’s tough to do.”

When visiting a school, Mackey said he looks for students and teachers who are engaged in their work and take pride in what they are doing.

“We’ve seen a lot of that this morning,” he said. “You see students and teachers who take pride in their work and take pride in their school.”

Cullman County Schools Superintendent Shane Barnette said he and the county’s faculty and staff members were excited to get the chance to show some of the county’s good work to state officials.

“There’s some great things going on in Cullman County, and it means a lot when they’re hearing about the great things that are going on and they want to come see them,” he said. “That just affirms what we all know already.”

The visit to the CATA also gave Mackey a chance to talk about the renewed focus on career technical education that is occurring at the state and local levels, and how school systems around the state are trying to send more students to career tech centers. 

“The big change in attitude across the state is that career tech centers are for everybody,” he said.

Many of the good paying jobs in Alabama are hands-on jobs, and a career tech center like the CATA is a good match for all students, whether they want to go straight into the workforce or go to a two-year or four-year college, Mackey said.

“These are high skill opportunities,” he said. “Whether a person wants to go straight to work as an LPN out of school or they want to become an orthopedic surgeon, that is the place they need to be in high school.”