District expands CTE offerings, launches aerospace manufacturing course and previews new choice high school pathways

Lisa Neighbors, the district’s career and technical education (CTE) director, briefed the board on recent CTE developments, including a new Aerospace Manufacturing Core Plus cohort and expanded access to industry‑recognized credentials.

Neighbors said the district launched its first Aerospace Manufacturing Core Plus cohort this year with 12 juniors and seniors currently enrolled (the program began with 15 and two students left early). The three‑hour‑per‑day course integrates applied physics, materials science, third‑year math and technical writing; students who complete the course receive higher consideration for manufacturing employment at Boeing and have access to a summer internship at a Boeing site.

Neighbors also noted the district’s credential expansion: over 2,100 industry certifications earned across comprehensive high schools in the prior school year, including digital‑technology credentials and a new ParaPro credential that allows employed paraprofessionals to begin work after graduation.

In related remarks earlier in the meeting the superintendent previewed that the district’s next high school will open as a choice school and listed potential pathways under consideration — entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, health sciences, networking/cybersecurity, and robotics/engineering — and said the site will launch with a choice model to address inequities and provide new options. Directors discussed access concerns, transportation and how new offerings can be distributed across feeder patterns; one director noted PCMS currently has no CTE programs because of a teacher departure and certification gaps.

No formal vote was taken. Board members applauded the aerospace example as a model for linking academics to real‑world credentials and asked the administration to bring further planning details about scaling, transportation and connections with the new high school.