Higley USD highlights CTE gains as district meets state performance benchmarks
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Summary
Assistant Director of CTE Michael Pearson told the governing board that Higley Unified’s satellite CTE programs outperformed state goals this year, reporting 2,575 satellite seats, a 91.8% certification rate among completers, and all monitored programs earning the state’s "distinguished" level.
Assistant Director of Career and Technical Education Michael Pearson told the Higley Unified School District governing board the district’s satellite CTE programs are meeting — and often exceeding — state performance goals.
"Of our 379 students that graduated and completed our program last year, 348 of them earned at least 1 certification or license, putting our certification rate at 91.8 percent," Pearson said during his presentation to the board. He reported 2,575 satellite student seats and 455 students at EVIT central campuses for the 2025–26 planning year, describing a 4% growth in HUSD satellite enrollment over five years and a 212% growth at EVIT.
Why it matters: CTE programs prepare students for careers and reduce the need for remediation after high school. Pearson told the board Higley offers 22 unique industry certifications through satellite programs and that 19 programs monitored in 2024 met compliance and earned the state’s highest "distinguished" quality level.
Pearson outlined funding and budget priorities: the district’s prior-year CTE budget totaled $2,990,000, with roughly $1,700,000 earmarked for salary and benefits, $180,000 reserved for scheduled computer-lab upgrades, $528,000 budgeted for supplies/equipment/professional development and an approved $560,000 (transcript figure) to build a criminal-justice lab at Williams Field High School.
Board members praised the results and asked how the district measures program productivity. Pearson said staffing and program decisions balance quantitative metrics with program purpose, noting some small programs (for instance, technical theater) remain because they serve specialized student populations even if enrollment is low. He explained the district typically budgets CTE staffing at a 25-to-1 ratio to support hands-on, lab-based instruction.
Pearson also described ongoing pathway alignment: adding middle-school exploratory classes such as graphic design and digital photography at Cooley Middle School to feed high-school pathways and lift persistence into the high school CTE programs.
What’s next: Pearson said the criminal-justice lab at Williams Field High School was signed off and will move into furniture/fit-out with a public open house planned. The board did not take formal action on the presentation; questions and follow-ups were directed to staff for later documentation.
