Muscogee County CTAE director touts 100% graduation for concentrators, asks board to support program expansion
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Summary
Dr. Victoria Thomas told the school board the district’s CTAE (career, technical and agricultural education) pathways posted a 100% graduation rate for concentrators last year (893 of 893), outlined new AP and pathway additions and asked the board to back staffing and transportation support to expand programs and dual‑enrollment access.
Dr. Victoria Thomas, senior director of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education for the Muscogee County School District, told the board at its Feb. 9 work session that CTAE concentrators posted a 100% graduation rate last year: “we actually reached a 100% … 893 out of 893 students that were CTAE concentrators,” she said.
Thomas said district CTAE efforts align with regional workforce plans and highlighted a $10,000 donation from Choose Columbus toward a first robotics competition scheduled for March. She described expansions in work‑based learning — citing a Piedmont Columbus Regional program that grew from 10 to 20 participating students — and said credentials‑of‑value rose to about 62% last year.
The presentation laid out near‑term course additions: Columbus High will add a legal‑studies CTAE pathway and dedicate an on‑campus courtroom space, and the district plans to add two AP‑level CTAE courses (cybersecurity and personal finance) in fiscal 2027. Thomas also said 23 CTAE classes will be recognized for honors credit in the coming year.
Board members pressed Thomas on how the district tracks post‑graduation employment from CTAE pathways; she said the district does not have a formalized tracking system and that some employer partners report high hiring rates — “Pratt Whitney says that 25% of their current workforce are students that came through” district pathways. She and other staff suggested better outcome tracking, credentialing/badging for workplace readiness, and transportation solutions to expand dual‑enrollment and off‑campus training.
Thomas urged the board to include CTAE staffing and program needs in the local budget request and asked trustees to use their relationships with principals to encourage pathway expansion. She said the district is evaluating credentialing systems to capture soft skills and employability markers.
The board followed Thomas’s presentation with a question‑and‑answer period; Thomas said she would provide lists of honors‑eligible CTAE courses and follow up on efforts to track employment outcomes and employer partnerships. The CTAE update closed with the director requesting the board’s “favorable consideration” in upcoming budget deliberations.
The presentation did not include a formal board vote; Thomas asked for support to be considered in the district’s annual budget process.