Ector County ISD Touts Its Planned $80M CTE Building

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) program in Ector County ISD continues to impact the community and will have a bigger footprint with the coming of a new facility in the next few years, as reported by the Odessa American.

The Ector County ISD Board of Trustees recently received an update on programs relating to November’s bond elections that included financing for a new $80 million CTE building. It will bring together the district’s career and technical training for students looking for work certifications upon graduation. It will be a joint-use facility with Odessa College.

For context, the Collin College Technical Campus is featured at the state’s Exhibit of School Architecture website, which gives a glimpse of the technology used in the 340,000-square-foot building.

Collin College programming includes computer networking and robotics and automation technology. High school students who complete required coursework will graduate with a certificate or associate’s degree in a range of study areas.

According to the online exhibit pages, about 80 percent of a CTE center is comprised of education spaces for programs including the standard automotive, HVAC and cosmetology courses. However, career training has evolved to include many high-tech courses over the years.

According to the Texas Education Agency, “career and technical education programs offer a sequence of courses that provides students with coherent and rigorous content. CTE content is aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.”

They include geospatial engineering and land surveying, drone/unmanned flight training, graphic design and multimedia arts and digital communications. Information technology programs include IT support and services, networking systems and web development, and STEM includes programming, software development and cybersecurity.

The Ector ISD website doesn’t specifically list IT, but IT and related coursework is offered in TEA-approved coursework across the state for high school dual credit and collegiate high schools, offered in community college partnerships.

Its executive director of career and technical education, Ryan Merritt, said his district’s building will be home for 400 high school students with 2,000 students transported every day for CTE programs.