Texas School Districts Showcase Career and Tech Ed Programs at AASA’s Transformational Leadership Consortium Spring 2024 Meeting

Career clusters included computer programing, broadcast journalism, culinary arts, welding, farming and nursing.

“Weather, take one. Action,” barked out the student director to the studio audience before signaling to the student weatherman to begin. 

“Welders are needed in Texas like it’s nobody’s business,” said the shop instructor.

“We drained about a liter of fluid from a patient,” said one student who is studying to be a nurse.

These were just a few examples of what Superintendent and other district leaders had the opportunity to see and hear firsthand during their visits to Round Rock and Austin Independent School Districts at the spring meeting of AASA’s Transformational Leadership Consortium, held March 3-5.

RRISD is home to more than 47,000 students and covers the city of Round Rock and nearby Austin and Cedar Park. Students who wish to embark on a career trajectory while still in high school can choose from nearly 30 pathways.

During their tour, consortium attendees had a chance to see students record portions of a television news broadcast. They also visited an “esports lab” and watched student gamers participate in a team building exercise as they collaborated with each other not only to build their e-projects but grow their communication skills with their classmates.

“We try to ensure that our students have advanced technology tools they need for many reasons, including making sure that our students are well prepared so by the time they leave us after graduation, they will be well trained with these tools.”

“We talk about preparing our students for today’s jobs but we’re also preparing students for future jobs and future careers,” said Hafedh Azaiez, superintendent, RRISD. “We try to ensure that our students have advanced technology tools they need for many reasons, including making sure that our students are well prepared so by the time they leave us after graduation, they will be well trained with these tools.”

Consortium members also visited the Clifton Career Development School’s career and technical education program, administered by Austin ISD and intentionally designed for historically underserved learners. Students participate in a coherent sequence of courses with a chosen program of study. Learning experiences include classroom instruction, hands-on labs and internships to meet personal transition goals.

“We are student-driven and that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day,” said Sachi Edson, assistant principal, Clifton Career Development School. “High school graduation is a huge accomplishment, it is absolutely to be celebrated but if we got you (students) to high school graduation and yet, you didn’t have a plan for the next day, the next week or the next month, we didn’t do our job. What I love about career and technical education is that it’s 100 percent the focus of what we’re doing.”

Careers paths on the consortium’s tour included Ag tech and mechanical systems (welding), culinary arts and diagnostic healthcare and therapeutic services.

“High school graduation is a huge accomplishment, it is absolutely to be celebrated but if we got you (students) to high school graduation and yet, you didn’t have a plan for the next day, the next week or the next month, we didn’t do our job.”

“Our work focuses on real world application, meaningful instruction – things that kids really can see mattering,” added Edson.

“There is nothing like coming on these site visits,” said Nick Polyak, superintendent, Leyden (Ill.) High School District 212 and lead superintendent of the consortium. “You can have colleagues tell you about the great things happening in schools. You can read things about the great things that are happening. But go on a site visit, walk the halls, talk to students and see the programs in action and ask the teachers questions. There is nothing like this

“It’s so important, no matter what role they have in their district to attend and participate in learning like this,” said Jill Hlavacek, director of innovation and learning, Naperville School District 203, Naperville, Ill. “It provides opportunities to learn from educators from across the nation within the cohort as well as a chance to see the high-performing districts in action.”

In between visits to Round Rock and Austin, the cohort visited Dell Technologies. The state-of-the-art facility designed to showcased advancements in information technology infrastructure, software solutions and emerging technologies. Additional topics will focus on security implications of artificial intelligence and the gamification of enterprise generative artificial intelligence.

Visit the AASA website for additional information about the Transformational Leadership Consortium. Superintendents and other educators can also contact Mort Sherman, senior associate executive director, Leadership Network, at msherman@aasa.org, or Debbie Magee, director, Leadership Network, at dmagee@aasa.org.