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Highlands superintendent outlines CTE expansion, program upgrades and enrollment gains
Summary
Brenda Longshore, superintendent of Highlands County Schools, highlighted expansions in career and technical education—including aviation, welding and health science programs—and cited more than 4,000 students enrolled in CTE courses and over 900 industry certifications last year.
Brenda Longshore, superintendent of Highlands County Schools, used a superintendent update to highlight expansions and investments in the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and to mark February as CTE Month in Florida. "This is a special time to recognize the importance of CTE programs in preparing students for high skill, high wage careers," Longshore said.
Longshore said Highlands County Schools currently offer more than 35 CTE courses across multiple career clusters, beginning in middle school and continuing through high school, and emphasized that the programs combine classroom instruction with hands-on training. "These programs provide hands on training and real world experience to ensure our students are job ready upon graduation," she said.
The superintendent described recent facility and program investments intended to align training with local industry needs. Technical labs now include upgraded computers and software to train students in coding, graphic design, animation and robotics. Longshore identified aviation as a growth area and said the district has expanded an aviation and aerospace engineering program housed at Sebring Regional Airport. She also reported expansion of the welding program at Sebring High School, now equipped with a multi-bay welding lab similar to Lake Placid High School, and said health science academies have been added to all three of the district’s high schools using technology such as interactive 3-D anatomy tables and nursing mannequin simulators.
Longshore cited participation and certification figures to illustrate program impact: "With over 4,000 students enrolled in at least 1 CTE course and more than 900 industry certifications earned last year, our district is committed to career focused education that leads to success," she said. She framed those results as part of the district’s broader effort to support the local workforce pipeline and to meet employer demand as businesses invest in Florida.
Longshore also referenced a recent CTE Month proclamation by Gov. DeSantis, saying the state recognizes CTE’s role in cultivating expertise in key industries. She closed the update by reiterating the district’s commitment to providing students with high-quality, career-focused educational experiences.
The superintendent did not announce new funding amounts or specific industry partners during this update; enrollment and certification totals were presented as district-reported figures.
