Shelby County superintendent announces middle-school career labs, principal hires and KSA testing start

Dr. Hicks, Shelby County superintendent, said Tuesday the district will open a middle-school career center using PAX Labs, purchase 18 labs per middle school and allocate three teachers per school as part of a two-year rollout. He also introduced Jennifer Hagan as the new Northside principal, described ongoing principal searches for Heritage and Simpsonville, and reminded students that KSA testing starts today.

The announcement matters because the career-center rollout is a district-level effort to expand hands-on career and technical education for middle-school students and because leadership changes and state testing affect school routines and staffing. Dr. Hicks said the lab program will be implemented in phases with “phase 1” this year and a second phase next year.

District plans call for 18 PAX Labs units at each middle school and three staff positions in current staffing allocations to operate the labs, Dr. Hicks said. He described program examples, saying students studying a home-maintenance pathway will wire switches and lights, and students in a nursing pathway will practice finding a vein on a simulation arm that yields a realistic-looking fluid. Dr. Hicks said the first phase will include the initial lab purchases and creation of dedicated lab space; additional purchases and further build-out are scheduled for the second year.

Dr. Hicks said several board members and middle-school principals visited Spencer County recently as part of planning for the career-center rollout. The superintendent said the district expects the labs to give students hands-on experience across pathways but did not provide cost estimates or a per-school timeline beyond the two-phase description.

On staffing and building leadership, Dr. Hicks held a meet-and-greet for hiring Northside Principal Jennifer Hagan and said the district is still conducting searches for Heritage and Simpsonville principals. He said Dr. Hicks and district staff have been meeting with School-Based Decision Making councils (SBDMs) and selecting interview questions based on community feedback and data, and the district “hope[s] to have a new principal in place by the end of the school year.” The superintendent did not provide specific dates for interviews or hires.

Addressing families and students about state assessments, Dr. Hicks said KSA testing begins today and urged students to “get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast, relax, and go with our first instinct.” He added, “We’re more than a test score. But it is an important test.” The superintendent framed the KSA as an opportunity to “show the state just how great our school system is here in Shelby County” and asked the community to encourage students’ best effort.

Dr. Hicks also noted recent community and school events: attendance at a West Band and choir concert and a visit to a local school event where staff discussed KSA goals with students. He thanked community members who attended a Northside meet-and-greet and mentioned a short list of community touchpoints from the prior week.

The district provided numbers for lab equipment and staffing allocations but did not disclose the total budget, vendor contract details, or exact implementation dates for each school. Dr. Hicks conveyed program goals and an approximate two-year rollout but did not present a formal board motion or vote during the update. The district is continuing principal searches and will provide updates as hires are finalized.