Photos by Tosha Gaines
Spain Park High School senior Ja’Skylar Simpkins is all smiles as a culinary student at Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, known as RC3.
When Ja’Skylar Simpkins starts her school day, instead of cracking a textbook, she might be cracking an egg for a dish she’s developing — a new recipe she hopes others will try and enjoy.
Standing in a state-of-the-art test kitchen alongside classmates, Simpkins, a Spain Park High School senior, has become comfortable tossing in a little dash of flavor to achieve her desired cuisine. This is no ordinary classroom — it’s a space filled with aromas wafting through the ceiling as high school students use their hands to create dishes that could be served in fine restaurants.
“Experimenting with flavors and coming up with new ideas for a dish is something that really has always excited me,” Simpkins, 17, said. “I think I am motivated by coming up with ideas for recipes because I love food and spending time in the kitchen is something I enjoy.”
Simpkins, like most high school students, has visions for what she might become one day — in her case, a chef at a restaurant she hopes to one day own.
Simpkins uses her visions and passion for cooking as a culinary student at Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, also known as RC3.
She’s gaining real-world skills as a culinary student during her senior year — helping cement her goal of one day being a chef.
“I think my experience at RC3 has only helped me realize how much I love cooking and spending time in the kitchen,” Simpkins said. “My average school day is somewhat unique because I get to spend time in a kitchen testing out new flavors and recipes, which has been a really cool experience. It has only grown my desire to go to college and culinary school so that I can have my own restaurant one day and serve people delicious food.”
This isn’t your grandfather’s shop class or grandmother’s home economics course. Hoover’s Riverchase Career Connection Center, or RC3, is part of a nationwide shift — and in many ways, it’s ahead of the curve. Built inside a renovated middle school with more than $18 million in district and state investment, RC3 is where high schoolers split their day between core academics and real-world career prep. Think: fire trucks in the classroom, hospital simulators in the lab and students wiring computers or working on cars before they’re old enough to drive them.
Photo by Tosha Gaines
Student John Parker Ware works on electrical wiring at RC’s Building Science Academy.
At a time when college costs are rising and employers are desperate for skilled workers, RC3 is building a new kind of pipeline — one credential, internship and paycheck at a time.
RC3 is located on the former campuses of Riverchase and Pelham middle schools and is open to 10th through 12th graders from Hoover and Spain Park High School.
Hoover City Schools renovated the 92,000-square-foot campus in 2019, investing more than $18 million to transform it into one of Alabama’s most advanced career prep facilities.
When the facility first opened in August 2019, the idea was to create a place where students could come and learn skills that would help prepare them for college, but also the workforce.
Photo by Tosha Gaines
Lead instructor Ricky Newton talks to students at the grand opening for the RC3 Automotive Academy in August.
RC3 now offers seven career pathways including automotive, IT, cosmetology and barbering, fire science, health science, culinary and skilled trades.
The facility has more than 750 students this year — an increase of about 100 students from 2024.
Students spend about half their day at RC3, taking English and math along with courses that equip them in their particular academy focus. The idea is that taking these courses allows them to gain real-world experience in fields they may one day pursue as a career.
“The simulated workplace model here at RC3 provides our students with practical, hands-on experience,” said Cedric McCarroll, coordinator for RC3 and district career and technical education director. “This allows our students to bridge the gap between classroom theory and real-world application.”
Across Alabama, state leaders are pushing for more credentialed graduates to fill workforce shortages. Gov. Kay Ivey’s Success Plus initiative set a statewide goal of adding 500,000 skilled workers by 2025.
“Our ability to grow our economy depends on our ability to develop a skilled workforce,” Ivey said when launching the plan.
Hoover has answered that call with RC3.
McCarroll was named the new coordinator for RC3 and district career and technical education director in July.
Photo by Tosha Gaines
Spain Park senior Elena Steed practices her craft at RC3’s Cosmetology and Barbering Academy, which opened in 2023 with a $577,000 lab.
Cosmetology student Elena Steed, who attends Spain Park High School, said she believes her industry will continue to grow and change with advanced technology for things such as hair extensions.
“I think things will only become more advanced in terms of services we will be able to offer to our clients,” Steed, 18, said. “The one thing we know for certain is there should always be a need for stylists.”
The Cosmetology and Barbering Academy opened in 2023 with a $577,000 lab designed to prepare students for state licensure as cosmetologists.
Hoover Fire Chief Clay Bentley said the Hoover Fire Department has hired roughly eight individuals who received previous fire training at RC3.
“We see the program as a tremendous opportunity for students who have an interest in public safety,” Bentley said. “The first year we started the fire science program we had complete success with it and it has only grown over the years.”
Bentley clarified that students who graduate from RC3 with a concentration in fire science still have to complete additional training before being considered to work for the department, but the time at RC3 allows for the fire instructors to see first-hand who might be potential for a future job.
“We currently have four full-time employees with the Hoover Fire Department who work part-time at RC3 as instructors,” Bentley said. “They are able to see these students and have an insight on potential employees. You get to see who has a good work ethic and who really commits to learning. Every person who graduates from RC3 will not work for the Hoover Fire Department, but those that complete the fire science portion have plenty of opportunities to seek out a career if they choose to do so. I definitely think those students who complete the program have a leg up in the industry because they have seen what it takes, they have spent time learning tools of the trade, and they have been given the time to decide if this is what they may want to do as a career.”
This concrete outcome shows the program’s payoff: Hoover FD instructors now train students who may one day serve alongside them.
RC3 fire science student Tyler Sach, who attends Spain Park High School, said he initially decided to pursue the Fire Science Academy because he comes from a family who loves to help people.
“I want to be able to help people after high school,” Sach said. “I love how I get the opportunity now to spend time learning things that really push me to keep going and make me that much stronger.”
While Sach, 16, said he is still deciding what field of study he would like to pursue after high school, he knows he would like to attend college and pursue a criminal justice degree.
Andrew Colson, director of undergraduate admissions at UAB, said UAB loves working with students from RC3.
“Students at RC3 and in other trade-focused programs are typically interested in our engineering programs and medical-related programs, primarily nursing,” Colson said. “While these programs don’t necessarily provide an automatic boost to a student’s application at UAB, they do provide a student with a better understanding of the career path they are eyeing and this can help a student better retain in their program once they move on to a four-year school.”
Colson said RC3 students often arrive with clearer career goals, which helps them persist once they reach college.
Photo by Tosha Gaines
Spain Park sophomore Tanishq Mittal examines the inner workings of a computer at the Cyber Innovation Academy at RC3.
Spain Park High School sophomore Tanishq Mittal is interested in cybersecurity and attends the IT portion of RC3.
“I have always been interested in technology and when I first learned about cybersecurity I was hooked,” Mittal, 15, said. “The idea of protecting other people online is something that I am drawn to and when I found out RC3 offered a hands-on course, I knew I had to try it.”
A typical school day for Mittal involves lots of hands-on experience working on computer parts including taking an entire computer apart and wiring the motherboard.
“The hands-on experience we get to have in the classroom is really cool,” Mittal said. “I am really getting to learn from the ground up and have enjoyed all of the things I have been learning so far.”
Mittal envisions his plans after high school to continue studying cybersecurity at a university. Alabama already has more than 15,000 cybersecurity jobs — a number CyberSeek Alabama workforce data projects to keep rising as businesses expand protections.
“The fact that on a random school day I am getting to spend time in a classroom and take apart a computer and see up close what each part does is a really cool opportunity,” Mittal said. “I don’t take that hands-on learning for granted.”
