Alabama Health Care Industry

Let me start by giving you some exciting information regarding our state.

Alabama is divided into seven Workforce Development regions and Opelika is located in the Central AlabamaWorks region.  Our region stretches from Lee, Chambers, and Russell Counties west to Perry and Dallas Counties.  The Alabama Department of Labor-Workforce Development keeps track of employment trends throughout Alabama and we use this information to make sure that the Career and Technical Education programs we are offering Opelika students provide them with the opportunity to leave high school with experience and certifications that will increase their chances of gaining employment or advancing their education.

One program that OHS offers is Health Sciences.  Looking at the top 40 "High Demand Occupations 2014-2024" report from Central AlabamaWorks, 25% of them are in the field of Health Sciences.  The Central AlabamaWorks Region also reports that 12.32% of the jobs in the region are related to Health Care and Social Assistance, making it the second largest industry in the region behind manufacturing.  According to the Local Area Plan developed by Central AlabamaWorks, "There are more specialized jobs in health care than in the past, due to rising cost and demand for health care." (p. 5).  The report goes on to state that, "Continuing care retirement and assistant living facilities have also doubled in employment.  As the population ages, so does the workforce in the healthcare industry." (p. 5).

Okay, that might not have been that exciting.

2017-2018 CNA students.

But what is exciting, is that Opelika High School is preparing students to take advantage of this growth through the Health Sciences program.  Students can graduate Opelika High as a Certified Pharmacy Technician, Certified Nursing Assistant, Certified Patient Care Technician, or with their Emergency Medical Technician Basic Certification.  The best news is that students who complete these certifications while in high school have the majority of the costs associated with test prep and test cost paid for through Career and Technical Education funds. This means a student can graduate high school with the training and experience to gain full-time employment in a growing industry or pursue a post-secondary degree.  With a certification, a student who chooses to pursue their post-secondary degree has the option of working in a higher paying job and gaining work experience while earning that degree.

2016-2017 CNA students.

An example of this occurred this year.  A CNA student who graduated in 2017 from Opelika High School became a Certified Nursing Assistant.  The student was immediately employed by a local facility with a starting hourly wage of $14.10.  While this is great, it is just the beginning for this student.  This student now has the opportunity to gain work experience that could possibly open other doors for them to advance their career further.

First OHS student to receive certification as a CNA.

It excites me to know that Opelika City Schools is providing these types of opportunities to students not only in Health Sciences, but in all of our Career and Technical Education programs.  If you want to keep up-to-date on what is happening with with Career and Technical Education at Opelika High School, follow us on Facebook, "Opelika High School Career Tech".

A visit from the Life Saver helicopter crew is always exciting.

Opelika High School Farm

Almost two years ago Opelika City Schools started the process of developing the wooded area behind the Opelika High School baseball field and track into usable land for the Agriculture program.

Aerial view of the wooded area behind the OHS baseball field and track.

The first step in that process was to have the underbrush cleared so that we could see the land and get a better understanding of the terrain and layout.

View of the land after the underbrush had been cleared.

Once we were able to walk/drive through the land, we were able to start developing a plan for what and where things might be able to go.  The decision was made to use a portion of the land for trails and plant identification.  Another section would be clear cut to be used as a school farm. 

After clear cutting the land to prepare it for a future farm.

The clear cut land was seeded to prevent erosion while the other pieces of the puzzle were being worked on.  In the end, we wanted the farm to have a variety of projects for students to experience and learn from such as fish ponds, vegetable crops, fruit trees, honey bees, and chickens. All of these projects required planning to make sure they were placed in spaces that best suited each one.  Before any of these projects could even get started, we had to ensure that one crucial element was readily available and easily accessed.  That element was water.  

Aerial view of the land after seeding and while the well was being drilled.

A well had to be drilled on the land to ensure that plants, animals, and ponds had enough water to keep them alive and healthy.  On August 21 that well was dug and water was hit at a depth of 170 feet.  The company digging the well said that the well at OHS would be in the top 5% of all the wells they dug that year for depth, water volume, and water quality.  

Now that the well has been dug, we are waiting for plans regarding the construction of ponds.  Once we know where the ponds will be located, we will be able to locate the other projects on the land. This will allow us to start putting water lines in the ground to ensure that plants, trees, animals, and the ponds have the water that they need. 

Ginny Gaberlavage and Collin Adcock
OHS Agriscience teachers

An aerial video of the OHS campus and land will be added to the Facebook page.  If you would like to know exactly where this land is located on the OHS campus look for the Opelika High School Career Tech page to view the video.

Follow Opelika High School Career and Technical Education on

Facebook - Opelika High School Career Tech

Twitter - @OpelikaCTE

Instagram - @opelikacte

Opelika Career Tech Continues to Grow

Well, it has begun.  The 2017-2018 school year has started.

For many of us it seems that summer never lasts long enough.  However, it is nice to get back into a routine, especially when that routine involves shaping and changing lives.  It is especially exciting this year as the Career and Technical Education (CTE) department at OHS continues to grow.

There are a few new faces that have joined us this year.  Mandy Baker recently moved to Opelika and will be leading the new Education and Training program at OHS.  In previous years we have called this program Child Development.  With this name change we are focusing student attention on the value of a career in education.

Jared Flemming has also joined the CTE Department as a Career Preparedness teacher.  Mr. Flemming will be a great addition to the solid core of teachers we currently have teaching Career Preparedness.

OHS will also be adding Arts, Audio/Video Technology, and Communications as a new program to CTE this year.  Tracy Tidwell, who has been with OHS for a number of years working in the video program, gained a CTE certification over the summer and will now be able to offer OHS students more course options within this field.

In the past five years CTE at Opelika High School has tried to make sure that the courses offered to students match not only the needs of our community, but also the interests of our students.  At the end of last school year we complied data to evaluate our efforts at reaching this goal.

For the 2013-2014 school year, OHS students pre-registered for 1,685 CTE courses.  That number has increased steadily for the past five years and for the 2017-2018 school year, OHS students pre-registered for 2,063 CTE courses.  We feel this information shows that OHS is adding CTE programs that interest a wide variety of students within the school.

Follow Opelika City Schools on Twitter @opelikaschools
Follow Opelika Career and Technical Education on Twitter @OpelikaCTE
Follow Opelika Career and Technical Education on Instagram @opelikacte
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