Callaway senior urges earlier access to CTE; board members and staff discuss expanding Career and Technical Education

Megan Wallace, a senior at Callaway High School serving as the student board member, presented a proposal to expand Career and Technical Education (CTE) access for academically advanced freshmen so more students can become double CTE completers.

Wallace told the board that enrolling academically advanced students in CTE during ninth and tenth grades, with additional advanced CTE coursework in 11th and 12th grades, would allow students to graduate with deeper career skills and potentially the ability to start small businesses. She described a double‑completer path as taking business‑oriented CTE in ninth and tenth grade and technical CTE (for example, HVAC or cosmetology) in 11th and 12th grade.

Dr. Kimberly Smith, executive director of teaching and learning, introduced the student speaker and invited Tiffany Klein, the district coordinator who runs spelling‑bee and competition programs, to the podium earlier in the meeting. After Wallace’s presentation, trustees praised her use of longitudinal data and asked follow‑up questions about sequencing, capacity limits and whether CTE should be offered to academically advanced students who do not normally enroll in those courses.

Wallace said her recommendation was not a request for a policy change but “an academic revision,” and she suggested options for addressing capacity limits, including expanding CTE seats or hiring additional instructors. She described career development outcomes through a family example: her sister studied cosmetology at the Career Development Center (CDC) and had customers and a business by age 20.

Trustees and the superintendent thanked Wallace for her data‑driven presentation and for representing student perspectives. A board member asked whether students should learn technical skills first and business skills later; Wallace said students should be able to choose the order that fits their goals and that early exposure helps clarify career plans.

The board did not vote on policy changes at the meeting; trustees encouraged staff to examine capacity, course sequencing and staffing so the district can consider whether to expand CTE access for freshmen.

Clarifying details included references to the district’s goal to increase CTE completers from a historical baseline (the presentation cited a district goal of increasing completers from 14.3% toward 25% by 2029) and the Career Development Center’s course capacity limits as a constraint the district would need to address if it expanded enrollment.