Children’s Policy Council plans school Career Day
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
The Coosa County Children’s Policy Council is steadily continuing to iron out details for this year’s College and Career Day for Central High School Coosa County.
The council held its monthly meeting Tuesday both in person and via Zoom. There were 26 attendees, with 19 joining in person and seven attending via Zoom. No elected officials were present for the meeting.
Organizations represented at the CPC meeting included Goodwater Head Start, SAFE Family Services, Lake Martin Area United Way, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Alabama Department of Public Health, Alabama Department of Youth Services, Central High School, Empowered to Conquer, Sheriff’s Office, Bridgeways Alabama, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, SafeHouse of Shelby County, AltaPointe, Coosa County school system, Coosa County Department of Human Resources, Coosa County Extension Office, and First Bank.
A good portion of the agenda for Tuesday afternoon’s meeting detailed the plan and schedule for the high school College and Career Day. The event is scheduled for November 19 and will include both in-person and virtual presentations from different entities.
Overall, each student should be able to attend eight sessions during the day, with pods being set up in each grade level’s wing of the high school. The plan is to have 24 simultaneous sessions, with six career, six military, six college, and six Limitless Groups with Empowered to Conquer.
The event will kickoff at 8:45 a.m. and from 9 to 11:30 there will be a rotation where students will be put into two groups and go through the rotation. This portion will include the mix of virtual or in-person presenters.
Plans are also in place to have two FBI presenters participate in the event. The topic they plan to cover is social media and what youth should or should not do on their social media accounts to get a job.
Since there will only be two FBI presenters, eleventh and twelfth graders will have the option of doing Limitless Groups or the FBI presentation during the rotation.
Following the morning rotation, the schedule includes a one-hour lunch break with time for discussion and reflection sessions. This will give the students an opportunity to discuss what has impacted them so far during the College and Career Day.
Following that, from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. there will be another rotation where students will have the opportunity to hear from more representatives from various military branches, colleges, career fields, and the Limitless Groups.
During discussion it was mentioned that the career presenters will also include trades that the students might learn through vocational school, such as healthcare, welding and automotive industry. The school is also sending student surveys to gauge students’ career interested in various fields to have a better idea of exactly who to ask to join the school for Career Day in order to meet those interests.
With the event being virtual last year and including a presentation from Coosa County native and former NFL athlete Justin Tuck, the Children’s Policy Council is checking into having a “part two” of Justin Tuck’s presentation for this year’s event.
The CPC also discussed a school self-awareness program tentatively set for December. Coosa County Extension Coordinator Sharon Haynes and high school counselor Misty Wade provided the group with more information on the “Be You for You” program.
Haynes explained that it is a self-esteem and awareness program. She said they need people who are willing to assist with wardrobe, hair, makeup, and similar things, as well as needing sponsors and support.
Wade explained that, as school counselor, she has heard from many students, especially young women, who have issues regarding self-esteem and body issues. She said that, among other things, they want to help the students overcome those issues, as well as help them learn how to dress for their body type and more.
She said they expect to have approximately 15-20 participants and that they hope to be able to purchase an outfit for each participant.
Central High School Principal Brandi Lee mentioned that with last month being Suicide Prevention Awareness Month the school did various activities to participate. Through those efforts, some students also talked to counselor Wade about their issues and having suicidal thoughts themselves, which also encouraged the school to take action to help address low self-esteem and self-image issues.
It was suggested that the school check with Salon 231 in Rockford about possibly assisting with the program, and Brittany Hogan with Empowered to Conquer voiced that her organization would be willing to help.
Overall, it was mentioned that they will need financial help, volunteers and sponsors to help make the program a success for all involved.
After brief discussion, the Children’s Policy Council unanimously approved a donation of $100 for the “Be You for You” high school program.
Organizations present for the meeting were also encouraged to visit the 211 website at www.211connectsalabama.org to review their information and make sure it is accurate for the service directory.
The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Coosa County Children’s Policy Council will be held at 12 p.m. November 9.
