State Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice visited Helena High School on September 25 as one of 12 stops on his statewide Future of Public Education Tour.

The statewide tour is highlighting important topics for students and families in Alabama, including PLAN 2020, the Alabama College- and Career-Ready Standards, student testing, accountability, and the importance of parental and community involvement.

“PLAN 2020 is transforming our classrooms into learning environments where instruction is individualized and personalized in order to better prepare our students to be college or career ready when they graduate from high school,” Bice said. “We are no longer preparing children to take a test, rather, we are teaching them how to think and solve problems using real world application. In essence, we are redefining the high school graduate.”

In addition, Bice said, “PLAN 2020 is shaping education reform in our state by identifying problems with specific schools and developing plans of action to address those unique situations; evaluating teacher and principal effectiveness; and providing support and/or corrective measures when needed.”

Culinary students from the Shelby County College and Career Center prepared refreshments provided to Dr. Bice and his staff prior to event.  Those in attendance were treated to a special performance by the Helena High School Jazz Ensemble prior to Dr. Bice taking the stage.  The colors were presented by the Calera High School JROTC and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by students from Oak Mountain Intermediate School.