Board highlights CTE, engineering building and online-program growth as student outcomes improve
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Summary
Trustees heard updates on CTE pathways, a new engineering building built with grant funding and donated materials, and growth in an online academic program; staff reported 21 completers and multiple students entering the workforce.
At the meeting, board members and program staff reviewed recent academic and career-technical-education (CTE) developments, emphasizing student outcomes and program expansion.
Speaker 4 described the engineering building project — funded in part by a grant and by donations of metal and insulation from R and M Steel — and said students are participating directly in construction and will use the facility for hands-on instruction, including a room reported to house multiple 3‑D printers. He said 21 students completed programs last year and about 15 earned a career-technical diploma; several graduates from the medical‑assistant pathway reportedly entered jobs paying about $40,000–$50,000 a year.
Staff also discussed plans to expand trades pathways (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) and to formalize apprenticeship relationships where juniors and seniors can place into local employers. Trustees praised the program’s marketing effect — teams traveling for competitions were cited as raising the district’s profile — and encouraged continued emphasis on student choice and tailored academic pathways in the district’s blended academic/CTE model.
The board also heard that the district’s online program has grown beyond initial targets (Speakers cited more than 100 online students in the current year), and that academic partners have developed flexible curricula that let students choose materials while still meeting state standards. Trustees asked staff to keep reporting on completion and placement figures as program expansions continue.
