The S.P.A.N. graduates for 2016 listen to some words of wisdom from guest speaker and famed meteorologist James Spann. (Photos by Anthony Richards)

Another school year is on the horizon, but first S.P.A.N. of Chilton County graduated 19 students during its annual commencement ceremony on Monday at City Hall.

The majority of this year’s class consisted of high school students and included Noah Godfrey, who was received his GED with the completion of the program.

According to S.P.A.N. of Chilton County Program Coordinator Amanda Hicks, it was the first GED awarded in the past couple of years.

“We are just proud of him,” Hicks said.

S.P.A.N. is an acronym for Special Programming Achievement Network, which began about 1996 and two decades later is continuing to provide opportunities for kids that would have otherwise been on their own.

“They come to us because they are behind in school,” Hicks said. “Sometimes the school counselor will call and refers a student or the family finds out about us.”

According to Hicks, they are usually two years behind once they come to us. The students remain enrolled at their school so that an easy transition can be made.

Jeremy Barnes has high hopes for another graduation this time next year, as he will enter his senior year at Verbena High School in just a few weeks.

“I’m excited to be able to follow through,” Barnes said. “I hope to take this momentum even further in the world.”

The program follows the typical school model of requiring competition within six to nine months. Graduation is always held in late July, just before the start of a new school year.

Anthony Johnson receives his certificate from District Judge Rhonda Hardesty.

James Spann, meteorologist with ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, was the guest speaker at the ceremony and passed on three things to live by to the graduates in attendance.

The first focused on being passionate about what you do, followed by having integrity when no one is looking and finally making sure to think of others before yourself.

His speech brought many in the room to the edge of their seats and drew a large applause.

District Judge Rhonda Hardesty shook the hands and handed certificates to each recipient at the event.

The program has a pair of teachers and counselors that divided their time amongst the 19 graduates and balanced different subjects and grade levels during that time.

“We have two teachers and they cover everything,” Hicks said. “They come in and do what they need to do.”

The counselors are allowed to have up to 10 people in their group at a time. These group sessions are where life and employment skills are taught, as well as the importance of communication.

“The toughest part is probably the beginning when you first get there,” Ty Fenske said. “You don’t know half of the stuff, but you eventually get to learn it.”

Fenske will be a sophomore at Maplesville High School this fall, and has hopes of one day developing his passion for rodeo.

“We would like to thank all of the people that have made this possible,” Hicks said. “We’re not under the board of education, but they provide a lot of services for us.”