Original Research by School Decision on Randolphroanoke Career Technology Center
RandolphRoanoke Career Technology Center is a career and technical school serving students in grades nine through twelve in Wedowee, Alabama, a very small town that functions as the county seat of Randolph County. This is not a comprehensive high school. Its purpose is focused: it provides high school students with technology training toward careers in various fields. The school is part of the Roanoke City school district, though it is physically located in Wedowee, about a sixteen-mile drive from Roanoke.
Because this is a career and technical school, the customary metrics used to evaluate a standard high school do not apply here in the same way. State assessment data was not available for this school, and no graduation rate was reported in the data we reviewed. That is typical for a school of this type; students likely take their core academic courses at their home high school and attend this center for the technical coursework. A parent looking at this school should understand it as a supplemental program, not a standalone high school. The comparison against other districts in Randolph County was not possible for proficiency, graduation rate, or chronic absenteeism because the values were missing for this entity, and the reason is the nature of the school itself.
Demographic and enrollment figures were also not available in the data. We do not have a count of students, a breakdown by race or ethnicity, or a share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. Title I status was not reported. Staffing ratios, discipline data, and course access details were likewise absent. This is a significant gap for any family trying to understand who attends this school and what the peer environment looks like. A parent may want to contact the school directly for this information.
No programs were listed in the data, though publicly reported sources describe the school as providing technology training toward careers. The absence of a formal program listing means that families interested in a specific trade or technical pathway should verify with the school what certifications, industry partnerships, or course sequences are actually offered.
The surrounding community of Wedowee is a rural town in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, with a traditional small-town layout centered on the Randolph County Courthouse. The population has been relatively stable but slightly declining in recent decades, and the local economy is a mix of county government employment, the school system, manufacturing, retail, and tourism tied to Lake Wedowee, a reservoir that draws visitors from Georgia and supports new businesses in town. Housing values in the area sit above the national median, as measured by a broad index, and have been rising modestly. The town is car-dependent, with no identified public transit, and schools are likely within or near the town center.
The parent district, Roanoke City, did not yield any recent parent-relevant changes in the data we examined. No referendums, property tax shifts, curriculum changes, or capital projects were identified. That may simply mean nothing of note has occurred recently, or it may reflect a lack of publicly reported information.
RandolphRoanoke Career Technology Center serves a specific niche: it is a place for high school students to gain technical skills while remaining enrolled in their home high school for core academics. The gaps in the data make it hard to assess academic outcomes or student demographics, so families should treat this as a starting point for direct inquiry. The setting is a small, rural, lake-adjacent town with a stable economy and modest growth pressure from tourism. This school fits a student who is clear about wanting a career-focused technical pathway during high school and whose home high school partners with this center.
See more original research from School Decision →