The enrollment paradox conforms to a common suburban sprawl pattern. While Lubbock County grows, new housing developments fall outside the district’s attendance boundaries, creating what Dr. Rollo calls “our greatest charge and mission.” Rather than viewing shrinking numbers as defeat, district leaders have doubled down on providing choice and opportunity. “We see our CTE courses as an outstanding choice for students who want to pursue something outside of the traditional pathway of going to college, although we want to prepare them for that as well,” Dr. Rollo explains. “CTE gives our kids a large number of choices in order to succeed.” FOUR COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOLS AND UNIQUE PROGRAMS Career and Technical Education is a critical pathway nationwide, with 85 percent of 2019 high school graduates taking at least one CTE course. In Lubbock, this trend takes on particular significance as the district leverages its unusual structure to maximize student opportunities across a diverse economic landscape that includes everything from semiconductor manufacturing to traditional agriculture. “Lubbock ISD has four comprehensive high schools, and that is something that when we saw our community growing 60, 75 years ago, we ended up with four comprehensive high schools,” Dr. Rollo explains. The district also operates Talkington School for Young Women Leaders, which recently graduated its 13th class, and offers a magnet middle school focused on project-based learning. This infrastructure creates an uncommon advantage in a mid-sized district. The choice model covers more than traditional boundaries. “A large percentage of our students don’t attend their neighborhood zoned school,” Dr. Rollo notes.“They’re actually choosing to go to other schools that fit their needs because each one of those comprehensive high schools and Talkington have some very unique programming opportunities for kids.” Students can select from an international baccalaureate program with feeder schools, Project Lead the Way engineering courses, or an early college partnership with Texas Tech University that allows graduates to earn up to 60 college hours. The crown jewel of this choice architecture is the Advanced Technology Center, which serves all high schools through a centralized approach. “All of our kids at all of our high schools have access to the Advanced Technology Center, which is where they can go to take their more advanced level CTE courses,” Dr. Rollo says.“We have a centralized approach to that, which is unique for our community as well.” INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS THAT WORK Across the United States, businesses face mounting challenges filling middle-skills jobs in trades, telecommunications, healthcare, and information technology. Career and Technical Education programs increasingly serve as the bridge between classroom learning and workforce demands, with successful models requiring deep industry integration. In Lubbock, where regional employment has grown 291 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 08 LUBBOCK INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
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