CTE Center Construction

Construction has begun on the Career and Technological Education center. The purpose of the CTE center is to help transition students from high school to jobs in the community. Students will learn advanced skills and receive certifications, college credits and the ability to explore their future from the comfort of high school, stated WFISD.

CTE coordinator Michelle Wood said it’s about letting students explore pathways for potential careers before they leave high school.

“Every student can take advantage,” Wood said. “Most students take their freshman and possibly their sophomore classes at their home campus before taking our specialized classes.”

Two of the classes scheduled to move to the center include graphic design and criminal justice.

“There are lots of different programs,” Wood said. “Everything from industrial trade, like welding, construction and automotive collision to the other side with things like engineering, business, marketing, health sciences, cosmetology, culinary arts, and AV production.”

Wood said the classes last two to three periods each. Teachers are able to spend more time with students and work extensively with them.

“The CTE center actually will open and start school before regular campus, kind of like what Carrigan does now,” Wood said. “They start at 7:25 so if they are taking a class first hour, then they don’t have to have two periods blocked out of their schedule because that travel time is incorporated.”

Some teachers will transition to the new campus either as a permanent move, or travel throughout the day.

Wood said the teacher’s schedules will vary based on the classes taught.

Agriculture Science teacher Amber Perry will move to the CTE center entirely.

“We’re still going to have the building here on campus for the freshman classes, but everything else will be moved to the CTE center,” Perry said. “It’s going to be better over there because we will have time, more space and better resources.”

Perry said the classes will be longer so that the kids will have time to do labs, and eventually animals will be able to be moved out to the center making it more accessible for students as well as improve the program as a whole.

“We’re going to have a better floral design lab over there,” Perry said. “It’s really going to make our program expand that way.”

Although the move will ultimately benefit the program, Perry said moving all the supplies to the center will be a challenge. Along with travel, Perry said that figuring out the block schedule might cause issues.
Perry said she’ll also have a grooming kennel and a space at the center so the ag class can work with the Humane Society.

AV student Savannah Parker is wary about the CTE center and their AV production program.
“When we go out for interviews, we’re going to have to come all the way back to school,” Parker said. “We’re doing a story on severe weather and if we need a teacher who knows about it like Henderson, Tempelmeyer, or Nielsen, we wouldn’t be able to work. We’d just have to figure it out.”

Parker said that although there are negative aspects to the center, she does see some positive components.
“There’s a potential for good,” she said. “We’re going to have two free periods so we’ll get more time to actually learn.”

Because the CTE center is still in development, Wood said “the kinks” in the plans will be worked out.
“The logistics are one of our biggest challenges,” Wood said. “Next year we’re kind of doing a dry run.”
The CTE center will be opening Fall of 2017 and will give students an opportunity to take the classes they’re interested in.