Frisco | August 2022

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way through their senior year, Manuel said. However, FISD also allows stu- dents to choose more than one course of study and to pick up CTE courses at any time. “They don’t [have to] commit,” Manuel said. “They’re kids, they don’t know what they want to do yet.” CTE classes dier from other classes in that they are not lecture-based, Man- uel said. The teachers and students are usually producing or creating some- thing during the class period, such as programming a piece of software, cre- ating an animation, or preparing meals and gaining kitchen experience in the CTE Center’s restaurant, Saveur. “That’s a big part of what we do here, is exposing kids to things that they could just really fall in love with,” said Bryan Bunn, a computer science teacher at the CTE Center. The district partners with the city, the Frisco Economic Development Corp., the Frisco Chamber of Com- merce and the Texas Workforce Com- mission to understand what career opportunities students should know about, Cunningham said. The classes aim to ensure students experience as much as they can before they enter the workforce or decide on a course of study in college, ocials said. “You don’t waste years in college trying something that you’re not really sure you like or not,” Manuel said. Expanding professions In addition to providing students with hands-on experience with real- world work, FISD oers certications in many of its pathways so students can either get a step ahead on college applications or enter the workforce immediately out of high school, Man- uel said. Michelle Millen, dean of health

included in expansion plans are a two- story tornado shelter on the southeast side that will be surrounded by new single-story space, according to a Jan- uary board presentation. The southwest addition will feature expanded space for the district’s veter- inary medicine program, according to the presentation. The southwest addi- tion will also add classroom space. In the new southeastern space, a two-story circulation space between the existing building and addition will aim to “provide a smooth transition while maintaining the existing south facade,” according to the presentation. A mixture of architecture, graphics, animation, esports and articial intelli- gence labs will be included throughout the addition. Renovation work on the rst and second oors of the existing building space are also included in architect’s plans, which will add more space for health science studies. The parking lot on the southeast side of the building along Ohio Drive will be removed for the new addition, reduc- ing the center’s total parking capacity from 787 to 673 spaces. In the end, the CTE Center will have 30 new classrooms and seven multi- purpose spaces to accommodate the hands-on learning models of CTE. The space will allow for about 1,000 addi- tional students per day to be able to take classes at the CTE Center, accord- ing to the district website. How it works CTE programs are typically oered during high school for FISD students at the center located at 9889 Wade Blvd. Typically starting from their freshman year, students can select a course of study, or pathway, and if they so choose they can follow that pathway all the

CAREER EDUCATION GROWING Frisco ISD has seen an increase in the number of students at its Career and Technical Education Center, according to data from the district. The expansion will make room for more students.

CTE center enrollment

Total high school enrollment 25K

21,289

2015-16

20K

First expansion opens

Second expansion to begin 2022-23

15K

12,710

10K

Frisco ISD’s Career and Technical Education Center opens 2008

Expansion opens 2024-25

5,215

3,617

2020-21 2021-22

2014-15

2017-18 2018-19 2015-16 2016-17 2019-20

SOURCE: FRISCO ISDCOMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER

environment,” Cunningham said. CTE Center Principal Dianna Manuel said the student enrollment at the cen- ter is driving its expansion. When the CTE Center rst opened in 2008, it served about 1,200 students, Manuel said. Now it serves more than 5,000. In previous years, the CTE program has seen as much as a 12%-13% increase in the number of students. It continues to grow today, ocials said. “We’re to the limit of our building capacity,” CTE Center Assistant Princi- pal Travis Volk said. There are some programs that FISD has to limit because of space, stang

or internship availability, which the district wants to avoid, Manuel said. “Even 3% or 5% growth can still be hundreds of students that we right now don’t have room for,” she said. “That’s why the expansion is so important.” Project details The expansion is being funded through FISD’s 2018 school bond pro- gram. Project completion is slated for the summer of 2024, in time for classes during the 2024-25 school year, o- cials said. The existing building will be expanded to include a single-story addition on the southwest side. Also

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