Guided crater tour returns next month Holtville’s Futral Alabama principal of the year

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

schoolwide assembly at Holtville High School. Elmore County Superintendent Richard Dennis was in attendance for the presentation.

It has been nearly three years since the Wetumpka Impact Crater Commission has been able to offer guided tours of the crater rim because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The guided tours return Feb. 25.

cipal of the Year.

The High School Principal of the Year award was presented to Futral on Friday, Jan. 28 during a

“Kyle Futral is an exceptional principal and is very proactive and innovative in his thinking and approaches to managing his school,” Dennis said,

As principal of Holtville High School, Futral has transformed

“Our last guided tour was in March 2020,” Wetumpka Impact Crater Commission vice chair

Marilee Tankersley said. “The next week, everything shut down.” the school culture from that of a school struggling with low morale, achievement and attendance to a school that strives for excellence. By collaborating with staff, many of the school’s issues were identified and addressed. Futral’s leadership style of listening, encouraging, supporting, organizing and challenging the staff and students, caused the school culture to

The crater commission has flyers to allow self-directed tours but the guided tours provide even more information.

“We have had lots of interest in this,” Tankersley said. “We are thrilled to be able to offer this again.”

Auburn University professor of geology Dr. David T. King will be at shift in a positive direction. The school experienced a 62 percent decrease in discipline referrals, 50 percent decrease in chronic absenteeism, 7 percent increase in the graduation rate, 33 percent increase in CCR rate and a 20 percent increase in ACT proficiency in the last five years. See PRINCIPAL, Page A3 the Wetumpka Civic Center at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 to give a lecture on the crater and its creation.

“He hasn’t been back since we stopped the guided tours,” Tankersley said. “We normally have about 75 to 100 people for it, but we expect more this time given its been a few years.”

Tankersley said King’s lecture at

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