Young Chaparrals got a look at their opportunities in the near future on Feb. 19 thanks to the CTE Expo at the high school.
Between increased requirements from the state and extended focus from schools to prepare students for paths outside of college following high school, Career and Technical Education offerings for students are expanding at area schools and AISD is no exception.
“We feel like traditionally high schools have done a good job of preparing students for college and learning what their next steps are, but we also realize there are a lot of jobs that do not require a college degree and there might be a lot of students that don’t have interest in going to higher education,” CTE and Accountability Director Dr. Jonathan Lee said.
The expo served as one more opportunity for students to get a handle on their immediate next steps early.
“Based on some new changes by the state, they want to see students coming out with industry- based certifications and what they call a completer status, which means they’ve got four credits completed in a program of study,” Lee said. “That said, we don’t want to box students in. We want to give them as much choice as we can.”
The students currently have early career exploration courses in seventh grade and practicum courses in eighth.
“What that allows kids to do is get a chance to jump into something, ... see they don’t like it, and completely change the path they have,” Lee said.
The event on Feb. 19 saw eighth graders bussed over to the high school to interact with CTE teachers and students in the gym while getting some broader advice on their impending elevation to ninth grade from the school’s counselors and a collection of student council representatives, one from each grade.
“We like to empower our students to take the lead when we can and also feel like it’s powerful for those eighth graders to hear current students learn about their experiences,” Lee said. “We asked our teachers to find some excellent students, and we have a lot to choose from, and ask them to sit at the booths and have conversations with the younger students. They did an excellent job doing that.”
Lee said the event went well.
“I felt good about the way it went for it being the first time doing it,” Lee said. “I stood at the gym doors as kids transitioned, and I don’t think they fully understood what they were walking into and heard a lot of ‘wows’ and ‘I didn't know this was all going to be here,’ so I think it was neat for them to see all the stuff set up and a gym full of students ready to meet them.”
As the district continues to grow, he explained so too will the CTE offerings, which have expanded from five complete pathways to 17 since the 2022-23 school year.
“It’s challenging to do in a district our size because you want to allow students to complete programs, so if you dabble in too many things and they can’t complete any of them, we don’t prepare them for post-graduation success,” Lee said. “It’s a fine balance there, but our goal is, as we grow as a district, to expand the opportunities we offer.”
New programs joining the roster in the next year include both a law enforcement path and fire academy in partnership with the Aubrey Fire Department.
“I see some other things on the horizon,” Lee said. “We want to expand into business with marketing, sales, accounting, and finance and also hopefully bring engineering and other trades like construction and electrical. Those are all things we know our students are interested in. We’ve just got to figure out how to do it feasibility wise. They're on the plans. It just takes a while to get there.”
