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District expands CTE, wins $1.6M CAPE award; aims to boost industry certifications for school grades
Summary
CTE leadership described expanded partnerships, CAPE grant awards and new programs (aviation maintenance, applied cybersecurity, solar and manufacturing). Staff tied industry certifications to College & Career Acceleration (CCA) school‑grade points and said the district is working to increase student credentialing.
Lee County School District officials on Tuesday laid out plans to expand career and technical education and adult learning across the county, highlighting partnerships, state grants and a strategy to increase industry certifications that count toward school‑grade College & Career Acceleration (CCA) points.
Associate Superintendent Ed Matthews and CTE staff presented recent grant awards and program launches. The district received a workforce CAP grant of $1,626,920 for 2024‑25, and earlier awards included $1.52 million (2023‑24) and $2.0 million (2024‑25) to support CTE program development. Staff listed proposed and existing program investments including aviation maintenance at Bonita Springs High School, applied cybersecurity at Fort Myers High School and a modeling and simulation pathway at North Fort Myers High School.
Why it matters: Industry certifications can generate district CAPE funding and contribute one CCA point per graduate for school grade calculations. CTE leaders told the board that increasing certification attempts and pass rates is a lever for both student readiness and the district’s school‑grade performance.
Partnerships and pathways: Staff described partnerships with Junior Achievement, Train to Gain and Tri‑County Apprenticeship Academy; Tri‑County provides multi‑year apprenticeship pathways (144 classroom hours plus at least 2,000 on‑the‑job hours). The district also plans dual‑enrollment expansion at high schools and a “grow your own” teacher pipeline with FGCU for an early‑childhood/teaching academy.
Adult education and workforce alignment: Adult Education leaders reported strong ESOL enrollment at the Dunbar Community School (663 ESOL students) and an increase in IET (integrated education and training) cohorts tied to workforce needs. The district is creating CDL, ServSafe and early‑childhood training aligned to local employer demand and technical college capacity (Cape Coral Technical College expansion, Fort Myers Technical College programs).
Board reaction: Members praised rapid growth in partnerships and asked for more data on program enrollment and outcomes; Member Giovannelli asked for further detail on the Acceleration Academy and distinctions between GED and diploma pathways.
Attribution: Presentation led by Ed Matthews (Associate Superintendent, Career & Technical Education) with Clayton Simmons, Matthew Bredencamp and other CTE and adult‑education staff. Staff cited CAPE grant dashboards and program applications as the source for award amounts and planned expenditures.
