MPACT Will Create Pipeline of Qualified Employees
The impact of the Montgomery Preparatory Academy for Career Technologies is so great that community leaders and school officials were heaping one superlative after another.
“This is a huge step toward making sure that Montgomery as an economic engine; as a land of opportunity; as a place where people can get jobs and support their families … this is what this is all about,” said Leslie Sanders, vice president of Alabama Power’s Southern Division and a former chairman of the Montgomery Area Commerce Board of Directors. “This is not a fad.”
It certainly is not a fad. MPACT, which will have about 450 students in its maiden semester this fall at One Center, offers students a path to join the workforce in fields and jobs in high demand such as electrical; medical science; industrial systems; welding; heating, ventilation and air conditioning; building science; advertising and design; information technology; fire science; and public safety.
The school will “help create and maintain a pipeline of qualified individuals to walk into all of these great jobs that the Chamber, the city, the county are going to be creating and bringing to Montgomery,” Montgomery County Commission Vice Chairman Dan Harris said. “No longer will we have to bypass an opportunity because we don’t have the individuals to field those jobs.
“There are so many kids who don’t see the benefit of a high school education. But once you show them the opportunity to graduate with a certificate and walk into the job making $50,000, $60,000, $70,000 a year – that’s going to keep them in school.”
Sanders said that she is seeking qualified employees daily. “Every day I am looking to figure out who it is that we need to hire for the depth charts and the jobs that we have and the ones that we’ll have in the future,” she said.
“Our mission is to engage, educate and inspire our students to succeed in college, career and beyond,” Montgomery Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Allen said before a standing-room only crowd at the school’s ribbon cutting. “We say today that we hit a home run with that mission when we founded MPACT at this location.”
This location is the former JCPenney building at the old Montgomery Mall, and MPACT is currently using 71,000 square feet, or less than half the available space.
MPACT Principal Marsha Baugh said that the school “represents new possibilities. It’s a chance to mold and shape the future workforce – that is competent; has technological skills; and has the ability to lead in their perspective fields. We truly believe that MPACT will come to be known as a center of learning that infuses technology, innovation and creativity, and one that is ready to meet the needs of business and industry.”
That is what is so critical. The MPACT students are the region’s future workforce. “Our commitment to you is that every student that leaves this building and graduates from MPS and is a part of MPACT will either have the opportunity to move into a job immediately, or move on to further training, whether that is two year, four year or just a specific skill,” said Cindy Veazey, director of the school district’s career and technical education. “That is our promise to you, so I challenge you to be here and help us make that happen.”
Montgomery County and the City of Montgomery helped fund the project with help from the school board. Montgomery County Board of Education President Melissa Snowden predicted that MPACT’s enrollment will continuously increase and those students will help the area “have a stronger workforce and attract more businesses to the Montgomery area.”
Montgomery County Commission Chairman Elton N. Dean Sr. said, “Everybody is talking about workforce development. We put a lot of emphasis on the magnet schools, but you guys and girls (students in the audience) are our future.”
Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said, “This is a seed that is going to reward. This is a seed that is going to be fertilized by those students; by that faculty; and by that administration; and by this board of education.
“This is the best of Montgomery and let’s make sure that it continues to be the best.”
