Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Inspire Academy is having an open house event on Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. CT. The Chambers County School Systems’s vocational school will be showing off its programs while celebrating the holiday season.

The open house will focus on the rising high schoolers who are interested in being in one of the Inspire Academy programs. Although the event is open to anyone interested in learning about Inspire Academy.

“There’s a lot of opportunities in our region for fields that involve career technical education skills. So it’s an opportunity for them to come on campus, to learn about our programs, and learn about the career paths that each program offers,” said Inspire Academy’s principal, Troy Kelley.

The school will deck the halls with a Christmas light show. All of the career tech programs will be featured, including the culinary arts program whose students will be making hot cocoa and cookies for the open house guests. 

“We try to make this kind of a fun, seasonal atmosphere so we have Christmas lights up on campus…it’s just a really fun night for people to come and learn about the opportunities that Inspire Academy,” said Kelley

The open house is open to the public. While the event is meant to educate incoming high schoolers and their parents about the academy, Kelley believes the whole family will find something to enjoy at the event. 

Alabama High School students are required to complete at least college and career readiness indicators to graduate. Most students may do this by getting a benchmark on the ACT exam or passing an Advanced Placement exam. However, more and more students, especially those in Chambers County are taking a different approach.

Kelley highlighted the fact that at Inspire Academy students can get these College and Career Readiness Indicators while learning a technical skill, getting various certifications in their desired field, and earning college credit.

The career tech school has multiple tracks that students can enroll in including, accounting, agriscience, Automotive Services, Cosmetology, Green Power, Health Science, ROTC, Marketing, Modern Manufacturing, Restaurant, Food and Beverage Services, and Teacher Education, as well as opportunities for work-based learning. 

The Inspire Academy courses are offered on three campuses: Inspire Academy campus, Valley High School, and LaFayette High School. Around 60% of all students in the Chambers County School Systems are taking career education courses.