Complete information on the Albertville Magnet Academy proposal can be found by clicking here.

ALBERTVILLE – Albertville City Schools announced Thursday it is considering adding a career and technical education magnet school and is asking for input from the community.

The school, named the Albertville Magnet Academy, would serve as the technical education hub for students in Albertville City Schools. It would be housed in the new Career and Technical Education building that is currently being built on the campus of Albertville High School. 

Magnet schools are innovative schools that provide high quality programs typically organized around an area of interest, which in Albertville’s case would be career tech. They tend to be smaller schools, and they offer a more focused and individualized educational experience for students. 

“We want to emphasize that no decisions have been made,” said Dr. Reeves. “We value the community’s input and are trying to gather all of the information we can before making such a big decision.” 

The Albertville Magnet Academy would work within existing Albertville City Schools, which means students would have full access to other resources within the school and the school system, including fine arts and extracurricular programs. Students attending the magnet school would still be able to participate in activities such as sports, band and clubs. 

The academy would provide hands-on training and education in the following pathways: additive manufacturing, advertising design, television production, animal science, building and construction, plant science, cybersecurity, education and training, medical professionals, precision machining, and welding. 

Students attending the magnet school would spend the entire day in the new state-of-the-art facility, where all of their classes will be housed. In addition to the specialized programs, magnet school students would receive comprehensive instruction in core academic and other essential subjects as well. 

One of the benefits of a magnet school would be extended instructional time in CTE pathways. 

Students who chose to stay enrolled at Albertville High School would continue to have career tech opportunities as well, including agriculture, business administration, culinary arts, financial management services, health science, marketing, sports medicine, and recreation, travel and tourism. Students at the high school would also have the opportunity to participate in magnet school pathways.

“We realize many of you may have questions about magnet schools and how things would work,” said Superintendent Dr. Bart Reeves. “We want you to visit our website. There, you’ll find lots of information, including some of the most common questions we anticipated stakeholders having. We have also created a timeline for the magnet school proposal.”

From now until Nov. 26, the community can submit any questions or feedback they have related to the Albertville Magnet Academy to superintendent@albertk12.org. 

Questions and feedback will be shared at a community input meeting on Nov. 29 at 5 p.m. in the Albertville Fine Arts Center. Stakeholders will have the opportunity to sign up at the meeting to speak to district leadership. The meeting will be livestreamed at AggieVision.com.

On Dec. 5, the board of education will hold a special called board meeting at 6 p.m. to review the Albertville Magnet Academy proposal. Stakeholders interested in addressing the board should complete the required form by Nov. 27. The form, along with the instructions on completing it, can be found on the district website at albertk12.org. 

At the regularly monthly board meeting on Jan. 16 at 6 p.m., the Albertville Magnet Academy will be included on the agenda for a vote. 

Recorded videos of the board meetings will be provided on the district website following the meetings. 

If the board votes in favor of establishing the magnet school, students will have the opportunity to apply this spring for the start of the 2024-2025 school year.