A celebration luncheon was held for 19 Charles Henderson High School students who are enrolled in the Business Technology Applications Advanced class.

Jennifer Sanders, who teaches the “amazing students”, hosted the luncheon.

“The students have worked so hard all year to earn an industry recognized credential, Microsoft Office Specialist,” Sanders said. “Not only did they earn several credentials in PowerPoint, Word, Word Expert, Excel, Excel Expert and/or Access, but 13 of the 19 have passed four certification tests earning them the Master level of certification. And, one member of the class has earned four Master level tracks.”

Sander said the remaining students continue to work diligently to meet the Master level of certification.”

Sanders said she takes great pride in the accomplishment of her students.

“Charles Henderson High School has the most Master students of any other school in Alabama,” she said. “Of the 95 total Masters in 35 schools in Alabama, Charles Henderson has 13. That is 14 percent of all Masters. That says a lot about the commitment and dedication of our students.”

Sanders said achieving the Master level of certification, which is an industry recognized credential, is a tangible resume item for the students.

“It’s one thing to state on an application that you are proficient in different software programs but to be certified proves your expertise and your skill,” Sanders said. “To be certified means that your are job ready and gives a potential employer confidence that you can do the job.”

Twenty-seven members of the CHHS senior class have earned a total of 59 Microsoft Office Specialists (MOS) certifications over their high school years, Sanders said. Some earned only one and some earned more than one.

“Of these 27, five have attained Master level certification in MOS.

Sanders said, if a student passes Word, Excel and PowerPoint, they can earn college credit for the computer applications general studies course.

Sanders expressed appreciation to Dawn Fleming and Rick Cervera, both CGI employees, for sponsoring the celebration party for her students and to Troy Bank & Trust, H&R Block and PC Plus for sponsoring honor cords for the graduating students in the class.