May 2025 Student Spotlights – Prattville, Autauga & Elmore County

The ECTC campus turns into a career expo for students once a year during Employer Showcase. Students select 3 organizations with which they would like to visit including many local businesses, workforce programs, and industry partners. This year, 18 organizations participated in the event sharing information with students about career opportunities and how to apply for open positions now or in the future. Again this year, students obtained jobs through this on-campus event.

Students from ECTC’s Medical Sciences program as well as Stanhope Elmore CTE participated in the Reality Check budgeting simulation during April. Each student received a mock career, salary, and family situation to navigate the activity. Their goal was to attempt to sustain their lifestyles without running out of money. Students practiced balancing the cost of housing, automobiles, household bills, groceries, student loans, and more with emphasis on saving for emergencies and retirement.

PCA’s National Junior Honor Society, made up of 7th–9th grade students, spent time assembling self-care gift packages for mothers served by the Elmore County Pregnancy Center. Our students enjoyed putting together these thoughtful gifts just in time for Mother’s Day in a few weeks!

The Alabama Department of Education recognized six Autauga County schools as 2025 Purple Star Schools recipient renewals, for a total of nine schools in the 12-school district. This year’s renewals are among 129 schools state-wide, earning this designation for their commitment to students and families connected to the nation’s military.
2025 Purple Star School Renewals: Pine Level Elementary School, Prattville Elementary School, Prattville Intermediate School, Prattville Kindergarten School, Prattville Primary School,
Marbury High School.
“We want to ensure every student who moves to Alabama is given every opportunity for academic growth and achievement – and the Purple Star School Program helps families identify military-friendly schools and helps local schools become more prepared to address the challenges facing these students,” said State Superintendent Dr. Eric G. Mackey. The Alabama Purple Star Schools program was established by the state legislature in 2021 and recognizes the efforts of K-12 schools that are committed to supporting military students and their families as they transition to new homes and schools.
“Growing up in a military family typically means six to eight moves during a child’s school career,” said Rebecca Thomas, communications coordinator for Autauga County Schools. “It is our privilege to partner with these families to assist them with transitions to and from the River Region area with services such as Student-to-Student programs in our Purple Star-designated schools, school-based military advocates, and dynamic partnerships with the military-affiliated organizations in our community.”
The 2025 Purple Star School renewals join Daniel Pratt Elementary School, Prattville Junior High School, and Prattville High School in affirming their commitment to the district’s military-connected students and families.

Daniel Pratt Elementary School and Prattville Kindergarten School students enjoyed traveling the world last week without leaving the district. More than 42 countries were represented at this year’s International Day, a volunteer-led experience that celebrates the unique cultures, languages, foods, landmarks, festivals, and native dress of various countries represented within these schools!

Students from multiple campuses have teamed up with Autauga PALS to help keep the community clean! Billingsley School students came together to spruce up their campus, while Prattville High School’s National Honor Society made a huge impact by clearing litter from Old Autaugaville Road, and JROTC members volunteered at the organization’s annual shredding event, taking in over 6,000 pounds of paper.

PCA’s “Elements of Art” show was a success! Families gathered on campus to view our Lower School students’ artwork, which they had been working on throughout this year!

PCA’s K3 had a visit from the petting zoo! The petting zoo is such a fun way for them to learn how to care for a variety of animals!

ECTC hosted our first ever Resume Contest for students during CTE Month in February. Students who desired to enter the contest were asked to tailor their resumes to fit a sample job description for an entry-level career within their program of study. More than 40 ECTC students ranging from 9th-12th grade submitted a resume to the contest, and a panel of ECTC staff plus outside HR professionals reviewed and scored the submissions. Lily Davenport, a senior from Wetumpka High School, was selected as the overall winner. She received a $100 check from Adams Drugs, our contest sponsor, as well as a goody bag of professional items including thank you notes, pens, resume portfolio folder, and more.

March was Music in Our Schools Month! Music education builds creativity, confidence, and teamwork all while helping students grow academically. Pine Level Elementary School celebrated the power of music education in shaping young minds and enriching our community!

It was near perfect scores at the Music Performance Assessment performances for the Marbury Middle School, Marbury High School, Prattville High School, and Prattville Junior High School bands at the annual MPA event earlier this month! All seven bands, and MHS choir, received either superior or excellent ratings on prepared and new music pieces performed at The University of Alabama. For the first time in school history, the MHS Choir performed at State Choral Performance Assessment which is the choir equivalent to MPA and represented the district as the only choral ensemble to perform, scoring overall superior ratings.

Congratulations! The Billingsley School and Pine Level Elementary School gifted programs won first place in the Alabama Association for Gifted Children’s state-wide Gifted Education Month Contest for their robotics and electricity project submissions! Billingsley students in grades 3-4 used Blockly to code robots to dance in sync together. PLES students in fifth grade researched and designed posters to share more about significant people or points in time related to the history of electricity.

Prattville Intermediate School had an amazing turnout for Career Day. Career Day was March 21st and was a whole day of information. PIS had lawyers, meteorologists, pilots, semi-truck drivers, and more presenting to students!

April is the Month of the Military Child. Prattville Intermediate School will be supporting our Military Connected Families by wearing Purple on April 23rd. Military students will be receiving a small snack, as well. PIS is also hosting a lunch for the military families at the school.

Congratulations! Jamyracle Williams, a Marbury High School senior, was named an Alabama Public Television Young Hero as an “exceptional young woman whose life story is a testament to resilience, leadership, and a deep commitment to her community.” She is just one of five students across the state honored because of academic excellence, community service, and – most importantly – succeeding in the face of extraordinary difficulty or hardship.

Congratulations! Marbury High School’s Coach Sowell recently recorded his 100th career soccer win. He credits the Lady Bulldogs’ program for the achievement, saying, “Without the players, parents, coaches, and administrators that have helped the program grow over the last nine years, none of this would’ve been possible.” The team’s academic accomplishments are just as impressive, with a team GPA over 3.85 for the last several years, a 100% college acceptance rate for the previous six seasons, and eight student-athletes signing to play at the collegiate level.

Mrs. Wills delivered pop tabs collected by Prattville Intermediate School students to the Ronald McDonald House. We are so proud of our students for giving back to the community.