February is Career and Technical Education Month, a great time to highlight the numerous CTE initiatives at MCPSS. The Career and Technical Education curriculum is a key part of Mobile County Public Schools’ mission to graduate students who are college and career ready. These programs prepare our students for the future by connecting learning to real careers; emphasizing career pathways aligned to college degrees; helping students earn career credentials before graduation; and creating strong workforce pipelines.

At MCPSS, career tech actually begins in middle school, where students are encouraged to begin learning about career opportunities in the region and beyond. It continues throughout high school through the Signature Academies and other CTE programs at all 12 high schools, as well as in the three career-tech centers. Here is a video from the Scarborough Model Middle Career Fair, courtesy of mcpssTV.

Students in Career Tech have opportunities to participate in career fairs, mock interviews, job shadowing, and internships.

In recent years, MCPSS has greatly expanded its connections with Mobile business and industry leaders, meeting monthly with the Mobile Area Workforce Alliance, which was created by the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Team.

The deadline to apply to the Signature Academies is Monday, February 9. Here is the link to apply.

Mobile County Public Schools joins the nation as we celebrate the valuable work of our school counselors, which includes 55 counselors in elementary schools, 30 in middle schools and 38 in high schools. In the classroom, our counselors present prevention and intervention lessons to improve educational, attendance and disciplinary outcomes. Many of our counselors have earned the Alabama School Counseling Association's Program of Distinction Award, which recognizes the implementation of comprehensive, data-driven counseling initiatives. Outside of the classroom, in addition to providing assistance and support to students who are experiencing mental health issues, our counselors collaborate with school social workers, attendance officers, resource officers, and parents to provide resources to promote academic achievement. Thank you to our wonderful school counselors!

MCPSS students swept the 99th annual Mobile County Spelling Bee, which included 52 competitiors from public and private schools throughout the region. The winning word was "norovirus." Congratulations to:
• Carson Floyd of Grand Bay Middle, first place (center in photo)
• Baileigh Mosley Stokes of Council Traditional, second place (right)
• Aaryan Sharma of Denton Magnet School of Technology, third place (left)

The Mobile County Spelling Bee, held at Mary G. Montgomery High on February 7, was sponsored by the 68 Ventures Bowl. All of the school winners will receive tickets to the 68 Ventures Bowl game, and the top three finishers received cash awards and trophies. Great job!

Here is a video from the competition, courtesy of mcpssTV.

JROTC ROBOTICS: For the third year in a row, a Blount High School JROTC Robotics Team is nationally ranked. Leopard Team B placed 15th in the nation at the JROTC Robotics National Championship, held in Sandusky, Ohio. LeFlore and Murphy high school JROTC teams were also among the 83 teams competing in Nationals, after qualifying from regional competitions involving more than 500 teams from across the country and from overseas Department of Defense schools. The Blount JROTC Leopard Battalion is led by LTC Robbie Cross. The team includes Ana Robles-Lopez, Zadrekah Bradley, Leris Molina-Nataren, Samantha Molina-Nataren, Dipsi Sierra-Gallardo, Carson Palmer, Khloe Wallace, Michael Dennis, Le’Elle Hubbard-Lofton, and Rachelle McFarland. In addition, both of the LeFlore teams advanced to the championship round, with one team ranked 20th and the other ranked 29th overall. 

VEX ROBOTICS: Seventeen teams from 10 middle schools participated in the MCPSS VEX IQ Middle School Challenge. Teams from Alba Middle and Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies are advancing to the Alabama State Championship VEX IQ Robotics Competition, which will be held at Auburn University. Also, teams from Dawes, Dodge, Taylor-White and Old Shell Road recently performed well in the MCPSS VEX IQ Elementary Challenge and will be heading to the Alabama State Championships at Wallace State Community College.

Here is a video from the competition, courtesy of mcpssTV.

More than 75 choir students came together for the MCPSS Middle School Honor Choir performance at Murphy High School on February 3. The clinician was Roderick Frye, choir director at B.C. Rain High, and the accompanist was Mary Lou Hatcher-Davis, choir director at Baker High. The participating schools were Alba Middle, Barton Academy for Advanced World Studies, Causey Middle, Dunbar Magnet School of Creative and Performing Arts, Grand Bay Middle, Hankins Middle and Phillips Preparatory.

Here is the full list of Middle School Honor Choir members on mcpss.com.

In conjunction with National Signing Day, MCPSS high schools celebrated scholar athletes who have signed to play at the collegiate level. New signees include:

Baker High
Football: Elijiah Anderson (Huntingdon College), Jerrod Grissom (Missouri University of Science and Technology), Tristan Robinson (Huntingdon College), Ashton Sparks (Huntingdon College)
Volleyball: Meredith Smith (University of Mobile)
Blount High
Football: Christopher Leatherwood (University of North Alabama) and Ryan Williams (Huntingdon College)
Alma Bryant High
Basketball: Mari-Margret and Madi-Marie Grayson, who signed with William Carey University.
Murphy High
Football: Ronald Poole (Mississippi Delta Community College)
B.C. Rain High
Football: Devante Coates (Miles College)
Theodore High
Football: Noah Hernandez (Lane College), Crishon Overton (Lane College), Kyan Parker-Crawford (Lane College), Maximus Stephens (Pointe University)
Vigor High
Football: Gerritt Holcombe (Itawamba Community College), Collin Stabler (LaGrange College), Joseph Yow (Clark Atlanta University)
Williamson High
Football: Keith Donald Jr. (Miles College), Alvin Dinkins (Alcorn State University), Carnell Fluckum (Hutchinson Community College), Todrick Withers (Miles College)

In other news, Vigor coach Renardo Jackson was named Coach of the Year in Division 5A and Baker coach Eric Scott was named Coach of the Year in Division 7A by the Alabama Football Coaches Association.
Congratulations to all!

Super Citizens: After finishing 10 weeks in the Super Citizen Program, third-graders from schools throughout the district gathered in the Murphy High School Auditorium for the Super Citizen Celebration to honor local heroes from the stage. The program includes an immersive experience in civics, character, financial literacy and social studies. The students chose heroes who embodied the traits of amazing citizens and read essays from the stage before presenting them with Authentic Liberty Replicas. They learned that “when you honor a hero, you become a hero!”

Black History Month: Students at Fonde Elementary celebrated Black History Month by learning about famous African Americans from Mobile, including baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, Lonnie Johnson (former NASA engineer and inventor of the Super Soaker), the Excelsior Band, and others. They also enjoyed a tasty lunch of delicious Southern comfort foods prepared by Fonde's cafeteria staff.

Gifted Education Family Night at the Museum: The line was around the block at the Gulf Coast Exploreum for this special event for PACE Families on on January 29. More than 2,700 signed up for the evening, which included free admission to all Exploreum exhibits and two presentations by keynote speaker Stephanie Griggs, a national expert on gifted learners.

Theodore High School's JROTC program hosted the MCPSS Raider Competition on January 30 at Bryant Career Technical Center. Cadets from eight JROTC programs took part in the competition, demonstrating skills in critical thinking, leadership, discipline, and teamwork. The competition's physical tests included an obstacle course, a one-mile run with an 11-foot wall, tire flips, water can sprints and a litter carry with 25-pound rucksacks.
Theodore High took first place, Baker came in second, Citronelle placed third and Bryant and LeFlore tied for fourth. The JROTC programs will participate in two additional competitions this semester.

Watch a video about the Raiders competition here, courtesy of mcpssTV.

Board meetings: The Mobile County Board of School Commissioners will hold a work session on February 23 at noon, and its regular board meeting on February 25 at 10 a.m. 

The board's work sessions are recorded and uploaded to the mcpssTV YouTube channel. The board meetings are live-streamed on mcpssTV.

All meetings are held in the Board Room at MCPSS Central Office, located at 1 Magnum Pass in west Mobile. The schedule is here on the mcpss.com website.

Calendar hearing: A public hearing for the proposed 2026-27 school calendar will be held on Thursday, February 12, at 3:30 p.m. in the Board Room at MCPSS Central Office. Two calendar options are being considered. The options are posted in the MCPSS Now section of mcpss.com.

Holidays: All MCPSS schools and offices will be closed from February 16 to February 18 for the Presidents Day and Mardi Gras holidays. In addition, February 19-20 are Professional Development Days for teachers, and there will be no school for students on those days.

Pre-K registration: Pre-registration for Alabama First Class Pre-K is open. Parents who want to be considered for a non-screening site must apply by February 27. More information is available at this link.

Reminder to parents of 8th- and 9th-graders: The deadline to apply to the MCPSS Signature Academies is Monday, February 9. Here is the link to the application portal.

Nominate teachers and student athletes: Want to highlight a top-notch teacher or an outstanding athlete? Use these links to make your nominations for a Golden Apple or a Scholar Athlete award.

Email: communications@mcpss.com
Website: mcpss.com
Location: 1 Magnum Pass, Mobile, AL 36618
Phone: 251-221-4000
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Andre King, Cyber Safety Coordinator for Mobile County Public Schools, will be a keynote speaker in the USA Health Youth Empowerment Series, a new lecture series designed to help families navigate some of the most pressing challenges facing today's youth. On February 9, King will present “Digital Citizenship and Social Media Safety,” focusing on responsible online behavior and how families can address risks tied to social platforms. The presentation will be held at Strada Patient Care Center, 1601 Center St., at 5:30 p.m.

Make your donations count: Mobile County Public Schools is a participant in Goodwill's Good Samaritan Program. Use the yellow Donation Referral Card when you make a donation to any Goodwill Gulf Coast retail store, and Goodwill will give a credit voucher to MCPSS Student Support Services. (Donors will still receive a blue donation receipt for tax purposes.) The yellow donation cards have been distributed to all MCPSS schools; if you need one, please contact Sally Ericson. The Student Support Services Department uses the Goodwill vouchers to purchase clothing and items for our families in need.

George Hall Elementary is accepting donations for a Community Yard Sale to be held February 19-20, where families may purchase clothes and household items. This is fourth-grader Janayla Taylor's Red Ribbon Leadership service project. Half of the money raised will be donated to United Way and the other half will be utilized to purchase new uniforms for the school's uniform closet. Please drop off donations during school hours.