McKinney ISD highlights CTE expansion and AVID growth; district launches CTE guidebook

McKinney Independent School District staff told trustees on March 31 that the district is expanding career and technical education offerings and continuing to grow its AVID college-and-career-readiness program.

The presentation, led by Jay (CTE/AVID staff presenter), summarized a year-long audit and follow-up actions intended to increase awareness, pathway alignment and equity across the district's CTE offerings. Jay said the district adopted a short slogan from its district advisory committee: "CTE, your career starts here." That branding will accompany a redesigned CTE web page and a newly produced interactive CTE guidebook aimed at families and students.

Why it matters: CTE and AVID provide students with hands-on pathways to careers, industry certifications and college- and career-readiness markers that factor into state accountability measures. The district told trustees that earlier awareness work and middle-school course additions are intended to increase the number of high-school "completers" who earn credit and certifications in a focused pathway.

Details from the presentation - Program audit and response: External reviewers and internal teams compared McKinney ISD to peer districts and recommended alignment and clearer communications. The district adopted multiple steps: updated the academic planning guide, increased middle-school CTE course offerings (including an engineering essentials course aligned to Project Lead The Way), expanded the eighth-grade CTE tour and created materials for family outreach. - Enrollment and funding: District staff showed a projected 12% increase in CTE enrollment for 2025-26 driven by outreach and new course options. Staff noted that some CTE courses carry weighted funding but also require higher equipment and materials costs (for example, aviation simulators or construction equipment). - Partnerships and facilities: Presenters highlighted the district's aviation partnership with Eagles Nest and community partnerships that produced constructed garden structures used for student programming. The district also said it is working to coordinate advisory committees for each of the 11 career clusters. - AVID update: AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) now serves roughly 1,000 secondary students across middle and high schools; McKinney North High is a site of distinction and McKinney North and Evans Middle are participating in revalidation processes. AVID staff emphasized research-based classroom strategies (writing, inquiry, collaboration, organization and reading) and districtwide professional development to expand use of AVID strategies across classrooms.

Quotes and testimonials - "CTE, your career starts here," Jay said, describing the slogan developed with community and staff input.

Next steps and context District staff said advisory committees, community partnerships and continued curriculum alignment will guide CTE growth. Trustees praised the work and asked staff to continue tracking completer rates, industry certifications and enrollment data. Administration plans further outreach as the district refines pathways and explores grant and community-funding opportunities to offset equipment costs.

Provenance: presentation and Q&A occurred during the March 31 board meeting's presentation block on CTE and AVID; the AVID portion included short student testimonials shown in a video used during the presentation.