District staff presented an update on Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and plans to expand pathways across the district’s middle and high schools.

Assistant Superintendent Deswood and CTE lead Sandra Westbrook summarized current programs of study — agriculture, welding, construction trades, culinary, business information and others — and described how this year’s grant writing and program alignment incorporate middle school feeders. Westbrook said the district has begun targeted outreach and recruitment in middle schools and that Kirtland’s Vaughn Wilson program was retrofitted to accommodate eight welding booths.

Assistant superintendent Deswood said program growth is being driven by student career interest surveys and by regional labor needs. “For example, agribusiness” is widely represented across campuses, he said, and staff are leveraging San Juan College and other partners for dual credit and work-based learning placements.

Board members pressed administration on marketing and recruitment: how schools promote CTE options to families, whether counselors are actively steering students into pathways, and how the district will increase participation in underrepresented schools. Westbrook said staff and Bonn Wilson teachers have participated in open houses and student-led conferences and that funds are being distributed to schools to grow programs locally.

Administrators acknowledged a state-level process that prioritizes funding and may limit the specific programs available in any one district because the state considers regional program availability and student interest. The district said it will continue to write grants, build partnerships for internships and recruit students beginning in middle school.

District leaders said they expect approximately 10 program completers this year across welding, IT, health and business pathways and highlighted existing examples where students have earned credentials and participated in paid internships. Board members asked for clearer school-level outreach plans and a schedule showing how CTE exposure will begin in middle school and continue through high school.