At the Jan. 17 McAllen ISD board meeting, Director Leo Saenz provided an update on the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, highlighting program growth, workforce alignment and recent initiatives.

Saenz said McAllen ISD offers 22 programs of study across 13 career clusters and that district offerings are intentionally aligned with local workforce needs. He said the district includes unique programs such as forensic science within its law-enforcement cluster and a growing aviation program that will expand from 12 to 24 students without additional local cost by restructuring instructional delivery.

Saenz reported that roughly 84% of all high‑school students participate in some CTE coursework; about 8,000 students across middle and high school take CTE courses. He said the district targets growth in industry‑based certifications and college-credit attainment; after a dip in the prior year, Saenz said McAllen ISD already has recorded over 1,000 industry certifications to date this year and expects to meet or exceed prior totals (the district previously hit about 4,000 certifications in a peak year).

Saenz highlighted partnerships and hands‑on experiences: incubator entrepreneurship initiatives south of San Antonio, work‑based learning funding applications (including a proposed Region 1 grant described elsewhere in the meeting), and a recent Boys & Girls Club partnership that paid incubator students for entrepreneurship activities.

Trustees praised the department’s outreach and advised staff to continue expanding high‑demand pathways and opportunities for industry certifications, dual credit and work‑based learning.