It is not uncommon to see high school students working part-time jobs before or after the school day. Students from Community ISD are no different. Residents in this area, just northeast of Dallas, can see these students working at the coffee shop, salon, florist shop, and even the auto repair shop. The key difference, however, is that these students are earning school credit for their work. In fact, the students help run the businesses for the school district.  

These students are all enrolled in Community ISD’s career and technical education (CTE) courses. In the past three years, the district has expanded from just a handful of elective classes to 11 distinct pathways through which students can earn both college credit and professional certificates. It has been a dramatic transition, according to Kenda Willingham, Community ISD’s executive director of advanced academics, who oversees the program.   

“We offered your typical ag classes, agriculture science, and then family and consumer science classes, like old home economics classes,” Willingham recalls. “Beyond taking core classes and a fine arts class or two, students would just enroll in an elective here and there.” 

Community ISD Superintendent Roosevelt Nivens wanted to change that. He had a vision for creating a new CTE program and turned to Willingham to implement the plan.  

“Dr. Nivens said to me, ‘Kenda, I need you to do one thing for me. Your mission is to give our kids opportunities and experiences that they never dreamed they would have, and we never dreamed they would have,’” Willingham says. “He is definitely an outside-of-the-box thinker. He had the right gal for the right job because I don’t stay in a box. Period.”  

The Plan: Give Students a Leg Up
Willingham first formed an advisory committee consisting of district administrators, principals, students, parents, and community members. The committee’s goal was to create courses that offered students employment opportunities after graduation. During this process, they also worked with local business leaders.  

“We looked at what were the high-need, high-wage jobs in our community and region,” Willingham explains. “We also looked at data from the Texas Workforce Commission. We looked at those jobs and asked what we could implement here.” 

On top of that, the committee formed partnerships with two local colleges, nearby Collin County Community College and Trinity Valley Community College, to create programs that offered dual college credit. Aside from giving students a leg up if they decide to go to college, this arrangement also helps boost their confidence.  

“Our own teachers teach these classes, but they [students] also earn college credit,” Willingham says. “It lets them dip their foot in the water to test out college curriculum. After they take some classes, they realize attending college is absolutely attainable to them.” 

Thanks to the committee’s work students can now earn college credit in auto technology, construction technology, information technology (IT) with an emphasis on networking and cybersecurity, audio visual technology, business management, health science, animal science, cosmetology, engineering, education, and criminal justice. Plus, students can earn certifications that help make them more employable.  

“When we looked at what pathways we were going to offer, we looked at pathways that were going to come with certifications they could build on,” Willingham says. “Our priority is that when they cross that graduation stage, they have a leg up. They are a step ahead of other graduates who don’t have this experience, especially if they are going directly into the work force.” 

For example, Community ISD’s cosmetology pathway is a two-year program. When students graduate, they will hold a cosmetology license and be able to work in any salon. They will also have approximately 24 hours of college credit they can transfer as an elective or put toward an associate degree.  

Creating Community Learning Spaces
While developing these courses, district officials also had to create spaces for students to learn. Those in the automotive pathway worked out of a small space in the district’s transportation center. An unused classroom became a salon once sinks were installed and city inspections passed.  

However, creating these spaces was not the end of the challenge. Because district officials wanted Community ISD’s CTE program to offer professional certificates that would enable students to find work immediately after graduation, it meant students also had to have real-world experience. Located in the middle of several small communities—including Lavon, Josephine, Copeville, and Nevada—the area lacked many of the types of businesses where students could gain this necessary hands-on work.  

“In our community, if you want to get a haircut, you are going to drive into Wylie or Rockwall,” Willingham says. “So, we opened our salon to the public a few nights a week. Now you can go there and get a haircut or a pedicure from our cosmetology students. We opened an automotive shop where the students work on the community’s cars. We have a coffee shop our business kids run each morning. It’s thriving.” 

The district is continually evaluating other options to expand its opportunities for students, such as an idea for a dog grooming business brought forth by the animal sciences teacher.  

These opportunities have given the students a chance to practice their soft skills as well as meet their academic requirements. Willingham explains this is important because district staff learned students initially were missing these skills.    

“We asked business leaders, what skills are our kids lacking when they come to you for a part-time job?” she recalls. “A lot of it came back to not having soft skills such as meeting deadlines and communication. These programs give them a chance to develop these skills. In the automotive class, they are not just fixing a flat. They are working with customers. They have to learn how to create an estimate and let the customer know how much that repair will cost.”  

Cady Anderson, a student in the cosmetology program, says learning these types of soft skills will definitely help her in the future.  

“Not only am I learning to be a good cosmetologist, but I’m learning how to work with customers and co-workers, how to run a business, and how to plan for my future,” Anderson says. “No matter where life takes me, I’ll have the patience that I learned from practicing in my class. I’ll have the work ethic from hours upon hours of work. I’ll have the ability to tackle problems that seem impossible.”   

Seeing the Successes
Even though the program is relatively new, it has already paid dividends for both the students and the district. In 2019-20, 100% of Community ISD’s graduating class was college-, career-, or military-ready based on the guidelines set by the Texas Education Agency, despite the disruptions caused by COVID-19. In addition, 100% of the graduating class was accepted into college, a trade school, or the military.   

“We told the kids you don’t have to go to college, but we want them to apply,” Willingham explains. “We want them to know when they cross that stage that they are accepted and could go to a college. 

“Additionally, it helps the kids connect lessons to the real world. One of the harder things when teaching is showing kids how the things they learn are going to apply to the real world. With these programs they can see that right away. The [CTE] teachers are always working with the core curriculum teachers to find a way to see how they can apply those lessons to the CTE courses.”  

This year, even as COVID-19 continued to upend the education of Texas students, Community ISD’s CTE program persevered. Although CTE students took some of their core classes virtually, they still showed up to campus for their pathway course—a testament to the program’s popularity. In short, the CTE program makes students want to come to school.  

“I’ve learned a lot about responsibility in this class,” says Caroline Cook, who is enrolled in the floral design pathway. “I will take these skills that I have learned and use them every day in the future. It’s my responsibility to go to class. It’s my responsibility to turn in my assignments. It’s my job to be responsible.”
 
Community ISD has come a long way in just four years since Willingham began creating the CTE program. This year the district opened its new CTE building, which comes equipped with proper facilities for each pathway, including its own salon and auto repair shop. The district will also begin a program called Freshman Academy where first-year high school students will have an opportunity to spend two weeks in each pathway. 
 
“It has been fast and furious,” Willingham says. “Not a lot of schools can go that fast, and go from two to 11 classes, but seeing the students and the success they have, it makes it worth it. That is what we are here for.”