In a recent interview with Dr. Reyes, the Superintendent of Calhoun County School System (CCSS), he shed light on the key priorities and initiatives that the school system has been focusing on in recent years. Dr. Reyes emphasized the three E’s for the older students: enroll, enlist, or employ.
“For the older kids, I like to stress the three E’s, and that’s enroll, enlist, or employee. What we want all of our kids to do is once they leave us, we either want them to be employed, enrolling in a two or four-year institution or technical school, or we want them to enlist, that means be a part of our armed services,” Dr. Reyes said. “If we can get all of our older kids to do one of those three things, I think that we’ve done our job.”
Dr. Reyes highlighted the importance of not just focusing on traditional academic paths but also on career technical education. The school system has been building relationships with local businesses such as Honda, Kronospan, and Fabarc to understand their needs and tailor the curriculum accordingly. The Career Tech Academy is expanding its offerings with the addition of paraprofessionals in cosmetology and culinary arts programs, a second welding class, and a skid steer program supported by a donation of land from the Calhoun County Commission.
We’re starting to get that message out that the career technical fields are quite lucrative in terms of our young people making good money right out of high school,” Dr. Reyes stated.
Moreover, the school system is collaborating with external organizations and contractors to ensure that students graduating from the Career Tech programs are well-equipped with the skills needed in the workforce.
When those students are coming out of high school, they are ready to be employed by such entities. So, I think that’s one of the biggest focuses that we’ve had in the two years I have been here. This should be the case in all school systems, doing a good job of training students in the career technical fields while at the same time assisting those kids who want to go on to two-year and four-year schools. I think we as a State have fallen a little bit short in the career technical field in the past but in the last couple of years we’ve really picked it up in this area,” Dr. Reyes explained.
The school system is also working on facility management, assessing the building capacity based on demographic changes. Dr. Reyes emphasized the need to adapt facilities to meet the current and future needs of the community.
“Whatever we do facility-wise, we’re going to be driven by the facts, and the facts, in this case, are the number of students in a particular community,” he noted.
Communication remains a significant challenge for the school system due to its large size, with over 10,000 individuals including employees, students, and families. Dr. Reyes highlighted the various channels they use, including the school app, Facebook page, and website, to keep the community informed. The superintendent also expressed the importance of timely decision-making, especially in situations like school closings, and the efforts made to communicate effectively during emergency situations.
On the topic of community engagement, Dr. Reyes praised the existing relationship with the Calhoun County Commission and stressed the importance of keeping them informed about school developments.
“It’s incumbent upon me then, to make sure that I foster a very positive relationship with the Commission. They need to understand and know things that are going on in the school system,” he emphasized.
As the election season unfolds, Dr. Reyes expressed gratitude for the community’s interest in investing in the schools and highlighted the crucial role of the school board in supporting the superintendent, administrators, and faculty.
“I think the most important thing that a board does is to support its superintendent, its administrators, and its faculty and staff. That then resonates and moves out to the students, who are the very reason why we’re here,” Dr. Reyes said.
Dr. Reyes also wanted to emphasis an invitation to the public to attend board meetings or access them online through the school system’s website, encouraging more interaction and engagement with the community. He also noted that he values customer service so if issues come up please reach out to the school board staff or school adminstrators and they will make every effort to assist with issues that arise.
