Indicator 1.10: Community, post-secondary, and business/industry partners and/or families actively support and are engaged with teachers and students in the STEM program.

Munford High School has a strong sense of community involvement. The STEM leadership team and local partnerships have driven the Munford STEM Initiative. Munford works with community, post-secondary, and business partners who meet and collaborate with teachers and learners in the STEM program to support and sustain our STEM initiative. We are devoted to keeping stakeholders involved with the changes occurring throughout our campus. The partnerships have provided expertise and guidance to help us continually develop our campus to support our students.

Munford High School regularly informs our Advanced Placement and dual enrollment partners through social media postings and regular meetings. This allows us to continue to improve our STEM initiative in these classes. Advanced Placement teachers have also attended training to continue to improve and create a classroom where higher-order thinking is evident.

MHS meets with the U.S. Forestry Service regularly to continue our existing partnership. We are always working with them to continue to improve our outdoor classrooms on campus. These classrooms allow students to step out of the traditional classroom to be able to work in a nature-centered, hands-on environment.

Jacksonville State University is a postsecondary partner who further aids our students in the study of marine biology. JSU has helped us with one of our outdoor classrooms which serves as a greenhouse and an aquaculture facility. Over the last three years, we have met extensively with our partners from JSU to continue our STEM initiative and improve the experiences for our students. During the 2016-2017 academic year, students were able to raise zebrafish and present their findings to professors at Jacksonville State University.

To provide added support and communication, Munford High School has an announcements page where information is easily distributed to stakeholders. The school also employs a phone tree to keep community partners and stakeholders aware of events at Munford High School. The website is updated with teacher pictures and biographies. Teachers also post updates and classroom happenings on their personal Twitter pages.

Currently, the community of Munford is working to establish an alumni association. Munford graduates have become successful in a wide range of career fields and wish to give back. The association has plans to offer several scholarship opportunities, in addition to providing mentors, speakers, and other volunteers to support our STEM initiative. This program will offer networking opportunities for our students to help form new partnerships in an effort to remain current in the ever-evolving world of STEM.

Munford High School students got a behind-the-scenes look at Honda’s Talladega County auto assembly plant, which is part of an event designed to spark young people’s interest in highly-skilled manufacturing jobs.

The program helps students develop a career path in the automotive industry. In a partnership with Talladega County school, Honda provides co-op program during three terms throughout out the year, fall, spring, and summer. This opportunity provides students with a real world experience, good -feedback and consideration for employment after graduation. Upon high school graduation, the program also provides students with a working scholarship. This opportunity enables students to earn an associates degree at no cost to them in fields such as equipment services and business & Technical services.