Volusia County Schools provided an extensive Career and Technical Education (CTE) update Oct. 28, outlining program growth, workforce-aligned curriculum changes, grant-funded lab modernizations and a recent surge in community and industry partnerships.

Dr. Kristen Pierce, CTE coordinator, said the district has added career academies each year and now supports 46 academy programs that link rigorous academics to hands-on career preparation. Pierce identified priority new or expanding programs: artificial intelligence pathways (planned at Seabreeze, New Smyrna Beach and Pine Ridge High Schools), aviation-maintenance programming at Atlantic High School, plumbing at University High School, and nursing-assistant training on the east side of the county. She said entrepreneurship, ag sales and natural-resources pathways (including water-management topics) are also under consideration to align to local workforce demand.

Pierce announced the district won a new three-year CAP grant of $2,000,000 to modernize health-science labs so they mirror clinical settings; the grant work will include patient-care rooms, nursing stations and updated simulation equipment in partnership with AdventHealth. She also described a recent CAP award of $3,000,000 (previously reported) used for engineering and aerospace investments.

CTE staff emphasized industry certification and dual-enrollment expansion. The district reported 1,729 dual-enrolled students for 2025 and a 94% A-C pass rate in dual-enrollment courses; 131 students earned an AA before high-school graduation last year. Pierce said the department tracks 126 industry certifications across more than 200 CTE courses and is embedding certification standards into pacing guides so students are aligned with employer expectations.

Community engagement has accelerated: Pierce said a focused outreach effort produced 18 events in the program's first two weeks of a new engagement push and 37 events in September, yielding more than a dozen new business partners and 25-plus new work-based learning opportunities in a short period. She said Volusia is pursuing strategic partnerships including Space Florida, JetBlue, Universal Studios, AdventHealth and a NASA regional hub opportunity; the first NASA-related meeting is scheduled for Nov. 12. Pierce said the department will publish an events calendar and an accountability log to track partner commitments and student placements.

Pierce also noted workforce-market wages tied to many CTE pathways, underscoring that some students can earn competitive entry-level salaries after graduation and industry credentials. She closed by introducing the CTE staff team and a new outreach mascot, "Casey the Career Cat," and said the department would continue to expand middle-school exposure and elementary STEM pilots that feed high-school CTE pathways.