MONTGOMERY – Education and workforce development took center stage at the Alabama Daily News Education and Workforce Legislative Breakfast Wednesday, where a panel of state leaders highlighted policy changes aimed at improving students outcomes and preparing Alabama’s workforce.
The event brought together lawmakers, educators and business leaders for a wide-ranging discussion on literacy, workforce participation and career pathways.
Alabama Daily News Publisher Todd Stacy emphasized that Alabama’s education and workforce policies are at a pivotal moment, and key stakeholders are more aligned than ever.
“With the right vision and with the courage to make the necessary changes, we can lift our schools up in a way that truly improves outcomes for students,” Stacy said. “And we’re closer than ever.”
Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, chairman of the Senate Education Policy Committee, highlighted the state’s recent gains on the Nation’s Report Card in fourth-grade math and reading scores, attributing improvement to tough but necessary policy decisions.
“When you’re in the bottom in reading and math in the country, you have to make some changes,” Chesteen said. “We cannot be complacent. We cannot be content with being last.”
Alabama’s ranking on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has improved to 32nd in math and 34th in reading. He credited this progress to committed educators and policymakers who prioritized reforms despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shelby County Superintendent Lewis Brooks echoed the importance of teacher buy-in when implementing state policies at the local level.
“Teachers love students,” Brooks said. “That’s why they got in the business. And if there’s something that’s going to benefit a student, they’re going to do that work.”
A major focus of the discussion was ensuring Alabama’s workforce is ready for future demands. Greg Reed, Alabama’s first Secretary of Workforce, outlined efforts to strengthen the state’s workforce pipeline.
(Trisha Crain | Alabama Daily News)
“We’ve worked on infrastructure. We’ve worked on education. We’ve worked on broadband,” Reed said. “We’ve already had good success.”
Reed emphasized that Alabama must be able to demonstrate a workforce that is not only prepared but capable of meeting industry needs.
“If you’re the investor looking to spend $100 million in Alabama, you want to know the answer to this question: How can you, Alabama, show me a plan that will guarantee a workforce ready and willing if I invest in Alabama.
“We must be in a position to answer that question.”
Alabama’s labor participation rate trails the national average at 57.7%
Reed acknowledged Alabama’s workforce challenges but said his department is developing a plan to address them. The plan that prioritizes career pathways, apprenticeships, and opportunities for individuals reentering the workforce, including those with felony convictions.
He highlighted the state’s new Career Pathways diploma, which allows high school students to graduate with industry-recognized credentials and dual-enrollment experience. The diploma is designed to help students transition seamlessly into high-demand fields, such as healthcare and skilled trades.
“That’s going to be a great way as we grow kids with great skills to be ready to go to the workforce,” he said.
Brooks shared how Shelby County Schools have successfully expanded dual-enrollment programs, increasing participation by 54% in recent years. He stressed the importance of marketing career technical education to students who may not be college-bound immediately after high school.
“I think you create those opportunities for kids, help them understand the spaces that they can be in right away, and help them understand that college is an option for them down the road, whether it’s junior college or whether it’s a four year degree,” Brooks said.
“What we would like to see is for them to be able to be in those jobs, stay in Alabama, live in our community where they grew up, and raise their children there.”
To engage younger students, the district has introduced virtual reality training programs that allow middle school students to explore careers like electrical work and auto mechanics before reaching high school.
Beyond curriculum and career pathways, lawmakers are also addressing ways to improve learning in the classroom. One proposal gaining traction is a ban on cell phone use during the school day.
Chesteen, the bill’s Senate sponsor, argued that smartphones have become a significant distraction, citing research that shows it can take a student up to 23 minutes to refocus after receiving a notification.
Teachers support the ban, he said.
“They’re tired of trying to teach and also police a classroom and telling kids to put their phone up,” he said.
Both the House and Senate bills continue to gain traction in the Alabama Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to sign it into law after final passage.
Brooke Gillis, CEO of Innovation Depot in Birmingham, underscored the importance of fostering entrepreneurship as part of Alabama’s workforce strategy.
“A lot of times within our universities, they are being taught by professors, by textbooks, by articles,” Gillis said. “We have to really lean in and lean on our entrepreneurs that have had real world experience, that have had failures and successes, to come into the classroom and tell them what it’s truly like to be an entrepreneur.”
Despite Alabama’s progress in supporting startups, retaining talent remains a challenge, particularly because many founders cannot offer benefits.
“They cannot get talent from other cities to move to Birmingham to work for their startups because they can’t offer (benefits),” Gillis said.
While recent legislative actions, such as tax incentives and credits, are helping, Alabama still struggles to compete with larger cities.
The next Alabama Daily News legislative breakfast, focused on military and veterans affairs, is April 9.