Mission CISD (Consolidated Independent School District) officials have received notification from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) that it has been approved to open the only career-centered Early College High School program in Western Hidalgo County.
“We have taken great pride in the fact that we have been an area leader in School to Career offerings,” said Ricardo López, Mission CISD superintendent. “We have been working closely with South Texas College (STC) for many years on continually improving our career offerings to not only make sure we are helping build a jobs ready workforce, but also one that stresses college and the importance of a post-secondary education. So many of our Career Technical Education (CTE) offerings are also tied to college readiness standards.”
Lopez also said Mission CISD will have about 130 of its graduating seniors also earn professional certifications, and/or college certificates from STC this year.
Mission CISD officials said there are many details to be worked out now that the district has been approved for the Career-Tech Early College High School program. The approval is also associated with a grant in the amount of $305,000 to help get the program going. District officials also said they look forward to continuing to work closely with STC officials to implement and continue to improve upon the district’s programs and offerings to better serve Mission CISD students and the community.
Like other early college high school programs, the new Career-Tech Early College High School program will center around smaller learning communities of about 100 students, beginning with next year’s freshmen class. The program could then expand to include all four years of high school over the following three years. District officials indicated one of the added benefits of the Career-Tech Early College High School program is it will allow the participating students to start taking their required college-level courses earlier in their high school careers, instead of waiting until their junior or senior year.
The new career-Tech Early College High School program will begin with three main career areas with the assistance of STC. They are the district’s existing Welding and Precision Manufacturing programs and a new Diesel Technology program. The programs would be offered to students at any of the district’s high schools.
“Mission CISD students already had college prep and career prep opportunities to be proud of, including the Mission Collegiate High School, which is an early college high school,” said López. “We plan to continue to look for ways to provide the best college prep and career prep opportunities for the students of Mission CISD possible. Our community demands it and our students are worth it. We will continue to be focused on preparing our students for college, careers, and life.”
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