Hoover dedicates Riverchase Career Connection Center

Hundreds of people showed up this morning for the ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for the Hoover school system’s new Riverchase Career Connection Center also known as RC3.

The 92,000-square-foot facility, formerly used as a middle school for Shelby County and later Pelham, will open to Hoover students on Aug. 8 with five career academies focused on health science, fire and emergency services, cyber innovation (computer programming, software development, software analysis, network security and network administration), food and hospitality, and skilled trades (carpentry, electrical work, welding and HVAC).

Other potential future courses in skilled trades include plumbing, heavy equipment operation and advanced manufacturing.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said it’s a fabulous day in the life of the city of Hoover and school district. The best days of our lives are when we realize we are doing something that is going to live longer than we will, enhance the lives of others and perhaps profoundly impact our own lives in the future, Murphy said.

The students coming to this center one day may be the people building our homes, catering our special occasions, assisting us when our computers have been hacked, protecting our homes from fires, keeping us healthy and even saving our lives as doctors and nurses, she said.

Murphy thanked the Hoover school board and all the partners who worked together to make the facility a reality, including the city of Hoover, Alabama Department of Education, state and federal legislators, Hoover City Schools Foundation, Hoover Parent Teacher Council and Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ron Dodson, a former Hoover assistant superintendent who now is director of the career center, thanked Murphy and the school board for their courage and commitment to make the dream of a career center become a reality.

The school system paid the Pelham Board of Education $4.25 million for the school and spent $13.5 million to renovate and repurpose it, Dodson said. Another $400,000 was spent on furniture and equipment, and the center is seeking $400,000 to $500,000 in grants to cover additional equipment, he said.

The city of Hoover also donated the use of two reserve fire trucks and older firefighter turnout gear and equipment for the Fire and Emergency Services Academy.

“This was a risk, and I think it’s going to pay off big for our community and for our state,” Dodson said.

Ninety percent of students from Hoover City Schools are accepted into colleges and universities, and 80 percent actually attend, but only 60 percent finish with a college degree within six years, Dodson said. And many others change majors while in college, he said.

Students need a good plan A and a good plan B, he said. He hopes that by exposing students to potential careers while still in high school, the school system can save them and their families a lot of time and money down the road, he said.

He also hopes it will help them find a career that best suits their skills and abilities and helps them lead the kind of lives they want to lead, he said.

The school system initially had a goal of enrolling 400 students this first year but ended up with 735, including some from Homewood schools, Dodson said. This demonstrates the need for the programs, he said.

State schools Superintendent Eric Mackey attended the dedication ceremony and said this facility is going to contribute much to the economic, social and vocational life of Hoover and the entire Birmingham-Hoover metro area.

In addition, the Alabama Department of Education plans to bring delegations from other parts of the state to see what students are doing there, Mackey said. Facilities like this will help the state attract more businesses and people, he said.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato applauded Murphy and the school board for their vision and commitment to provide these special opportunities to students.

“It’s no secret that our workforce is changing, that our young people need more options to meet those changing demands of industry,” Brocato said. “When I meet with business owners all throughout the metro area, all they talk about is the challenges of workforce development and hiring a skilled workforce. Here in Hoover, we’re not going to add to the challenge. We’re going to become part of the solution. We’ll continue to be innovative and creative to provide unique opportunities when it comes to educating our children and challenging them to do their absolute very best.”

Monty Gooch, director of the Medical West stand-alone emergency department in Hoover, toured the career center today and said he was very impressed with it.

“At the high school level, I didn’t have any exposure to anything like this, not even close,” Gooch said.

Even when he went to nursing school at the University of North Alabama, the facilities didn’t compare, he said. “This is highly unusual. I think this is better than a number of college environments.”

Tracy Schencker, the nursing supervisor at the Medical West emergency department in Hoover, said the simulated emergency room and patient care stations in the Health Science Academy will help prepare the high school students for what they will see in a real-life work environment.

Gooch said Medical West already has been partnering with Hoover’s existing health science academies for four years, and he has found the students who came for job shadowing very eager and engaged.

Dodson thanked all of the business partners and organizations that have helped with financial donations and expertise as the career center was designed and built and that have committed to help with job shadowing opportunities for students in the future. They are laying a foundation for future success, he said.

He also thanked Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, which designed RC3, and Stone Building, which handled the renovation.

They did a fine job pulling it all together and getting the renovations completed in time for the start of this school year, even in the face of a tough labor market, Dodson said. “There were workers here seven days a week.”

U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, a Hoover resident who represents the Sixth Congressional District, said this facility is one of the most exciting things happening in the region. He’s thrilled to see the school system matching the gifts and talents of students with their interests at a critical point in their lives and believes the facility will really make a difference.

Hoover school board Vice President Deanna Bamman said RC3 will open doors for even more opportunities for students to enjoy success in life.