Published 3:53 pm Wednesday, September 2, 2026
Cullman High School Cybersecurity Instructor Jonathan Haynes discusses Cyber Workforce Development with CHS students. Photo courtesy Jonathan Haynes
At the Aug. 25 Alabama Security Council Meeting hosted by the Alabama Office of Information Technology (OIT) in Montgomery, Cullman High School Cybersecurity Instructor Jonathan Haynes shared the Community Security Operations Center (CSOC) vision.
For the audience of public sector cybersecurity and IT leaders, Haynes provided an overview of the Cullman High School cybersecurity program, which prepares students for cybersecurity industry certifications leading to a capstone course in cyber defense using the PISCES High School SOC curriculum.
PISCES (Public Infrastructure Security Cybersecurity Education System) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington state. PISCES provides a curriculum to train students in network monitoring of public infrastructure for local government organizations that cannot afford the cost of a managed security service provider.
The PISCES workforce development program was started in 2007 in partnership with local municipalities, colleges and cybersecurity service providers. During the past 20 years, the program has been implemented in other states, with Montana and Hawaii being the most recent states to add a PISCES program.
PISCES provides free curriculum to colleges and universities, and it recently created a high school curriculum that Cullman High School piloted in the 2025-2026 school year and will continue to implement this year.
The Community Security Operation Center was created as the pilot program of PISCES in Alabama.
“With the PISCES training provided for Cullman High School students, the CSOC is ready to provide support to local governments that are ready to increase the security of their network while helping to develop the cybersecurity workforce,” Haynes said in a press release. “With the constant threats on local networks, the CSOC is a crucial component of Community Cyber Defense.”
Alabama OIT CISO Chadwick Smith praised Haynes’ work in training a future workforce skilled in cybersecurity.
“We are excited to see leaders like Jonathan Haynes helping advance Alabama’s broader whole-of-state cybersecurity strategy. The future of cybersecurity in our state depends on our ability to work together across state and local government, education, and the private sector — including building the next generation of talent,” Smith said in the release. “When students can begin developing real-world cybersecurity skills in high school, continue that development through college, and ultimately enter careers serving Alabama’s public or private sector, we are creating something that can have a lasting impact. What Jonathan and Cullman High School are building has the potential to become a model that can be replicated in communities across our state.”
Frank Yarnell, Alabama OIT Director of Information Security, touted the importance of the workforce pipeline beginning in high school.
“Community Security Operations Centers can become an important part of how we strengthen cybersecurity across Alabama. As these programs grow, they create an opportunity to share security telemetry responsibly, expand visibility into threats affecting our communities, and develop the cybersecurity workforce we will need in the future,” Yarnell said in the press release. “Building that pipeline from high school, through our colleges and universities, and ultimately into public– and private-sector cybersecurity careers strengthens both our workforce and our collective ability to defend the state.”
More information about PISCES is available on their website, pisces-intl.org/.
To learn more about the cybersecurity services provided by the Community SOC, visit https://cullmanhigh.cullmancats.net/departments/career-and-technical-education/cybersecurity.
