The old Gadsden High School, located on 12th Street in the northeastern Alabama city, has rested in disrepair for years since the merger of the town's three former high schools into Gadsden City High School in 2006.
But that is about to change, according to Gadsden City Schools Superintendent Tony Reddick.
The building will soon be the site of multiple developments in the coming years, Reddick told the Gadsden Messenger in late August.
The first phase of its revitalization begins with the Gadsden Readiness and Career Education Academy, or GRACE Academy, designed to offer on-the-job construction training to local students and adults.
The program will be funded by a grant from the Alabama Construction Industry Craft Training Board (CICT), Reddick said.
He credited Gadsden's Lana Bellew, a professional grant writer, with securing the funding.
"Dr. Bellew discovered this grant where we can help with workforce development," Reddick explained. "That's been an issue in our city, community and in our county for many, many years. And so, we saw an opportunity to take advantage of this by offering training programs in commercial construction, plumbing and electrical technology — all hands-on simulators."
He added that the program will be open to a wide range of participants.
"[It] is intended to serve adults as well as students," Reddick noted. "It does not conflict with our career tech program because we're not offering a credit for it, [nor] a certification for it. We will guide these participants to an opportunity for certification, but it's mostly on-the-job training."
Local businesses will "lend" instructors to lead trainings, and several also have agreed to hire workforce development program participants after their training is complete, the Messenger reported.
"It's just an opportunity for our participants to learn a work-ready trade," Reddick said in speaking to the Gadsden news source. "The commitment that we have from some of our local businesses [means] they can just about put them to work immediately."
GRACE Kept the Acronym, Changed Its Focus
The program had long been conceptualized as GRACE Academy, but it once had a much different focus.
"Some time ago, I came up with the idea of what I call GRACE Academy, which at the time [stood for] Gadsden Rehabilitative Alternative Center for Education, where we were primarily concerned about our students who were struggling with maybe mental health and other issues where we thought counseling was necessary," Reddick said.
The construction industry grant, however, proved a more beneficial opportunity, he explained. The grant caused the Gadsden City Schools Board to "change direction for the better," Reddick said, especially considering work will begin on GRACE Academy's first three classrooms as soon as October.
Providing social and emotional education tools are still a focus for Reddick, but he said that technical training lends itself to "addressing a more permanent need in terms of providing work skills for the community."
The Gadsden school superintendent admitted to the Gadsden news source that he had dreamed of many uses for the old high school building in the years since its closing. While a portion of the old high school building currently houses the alternative school, it only accounts for a fraction of the available space.
"We've always had a passion for the old Gadsden High School," Reddick said. "[It is a] beautiful facility, but very limited in its use."
The three classrooms slated to be converted to laboratory space for GRACE Academy are located on the opposite side of the building from the current alternative school.
"I felt as superintendent that while we still use the facility somewhat, there could be additional purposes assigned to it," explained Reddick. "Obviously, there are some areas that are in disrepair. There are some roofing needs that limit us to what we can do in certain parts of the building, but in this area we're in fairly good shape."
Students Can Practice Renovation Skills on School
The beauty of housing a construction industry training program in an old building is that the location itself can serve as a learning opportunity, the Messenger noted.
Reddick confirmed that, indeed, GRACE Academy students will practice construction, plumbing, and electrical skills on parts of the old high school building — even taking on the task of restoring some of its classrooms.
He added that the program aims to train 250 participants in the program's first year.
GRACE Academy students will train for 16 weeks, allowing for three cohorts — one each during the fall, spring and summer semesters.
"These will be individuals who, once they're done with their 16-week cohort, will have learned enough of a skill to actually go to work, so that's what we're most excited about," Reddick said.
He sees the GRACE Academy program as an attractive one for local students and workers preparing to enter or reenter the workforce.
"I think in a situation where you've got a training opportunity [and] there's a job basically just waiting for [participants], that should invite more people to consider taking advantage of it," he said.
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