{"id":148090,"date":"2026-02-02T22:33:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/148090\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T22:33:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T22:33:14","slug":"richardson-isd-to-grow-cte-offerings-with-new-86m-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/148090\/","title":{"rendered":"Richardson ISD to grow CTE offerings with new $86M facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs Richardson ISD<\/a> continues to grow its Career and Technical Education, or CTE, offerings, the programming will soon have its own space.<\/p>\n

The gist<\/p>\n

Voters approved the district\u2019s bond package<\/a> in November, including $86 million for a new CTE center, which will be located near the corner of Greenville Avenue and Walnut Street in south Richardson.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Tabitha Branum said that design for the project will start later this year with an eye on designing \u201cthe next generation of CTE center.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure that we\u2019re designing something that is looking a decade ahead and not a decade in the rear\u201d Branum said.<\/p>\n

Branum said that the center will likely feature automotive, plumbing, HVAC, manufacturing and other programs that are challenging or expensive to replicate across campuses.\u201cBeing able to have them at one center is going to allow all four of our high schools to take advantage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Branum added that staff will consider high-demand programs, including water management and Artificial Intelligence-related paths, to be housed at the center.<\/p>\n

As the project enters the design phase, Branum said there will be a focus on a \u201cmodular design approach\u201d so the space can transform with new programs as workforce needs change.<\/p>\n

Some background<\/p>\n

The CTE center is the latest in a string of advancements RISD has made to its CTE programming.The district opened a Credit Union of Texas branch inside Berkner High School in 2023, and its Healthcare Academy, a partnership with Methodist Richardson Medical Center, saw enrollment grow by 14% from 2024-25 to the current school year, district CTE Executive Director Creighton Bryan said.<\/p>\n

The district also partners with Dallas College for its Pathways in Technology program at all four high schools, allowing students to earn associate degrees and certifications while in high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students can walk across the stage at Dallas College two weeks before they walk across the stage to get their high school diploma,\u201d Bryan said.<\/p>\n

Richardson residents in Plano ISD\u2019s attendance boundaries can also access expanding CTE programming. PISD\u2019s CTE center<\/a> is under construction and expected to open in 2026.<\/p>\n

While CTE programming has expanded, RISD and PISD have seen declining enrollment every year since 2019 and 2012, respectively. Recent district initiatives in response to declining enrollment include campus closures in both districts, along with opening enrollment outside of attendance boundaries.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Berkner High School student Khloe Chaney works in the on-campus Credit Union of Texas<\/a> Smart Branch. She said the program has improved her interpersonal and financial literacy skills while helping expose her to a potential career path.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited about the doors this program has opened for me,\u201d she said. \u201cYou can really see the change that the students go through when you\u2019re working here.\u201d<\/p>\n

CUTX CEO Eric Pointer said the program helps \u201cbring our mission to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said that the program also adds to the company\u2019s future talent pipeline, saying that CUTX has hired several former Smart Branch students to permanent roles throughout the organization.<\/p>\n

Richardson City Manager Don Magner said that partnerships with Richardson and Plano ISDs help bolster the city\u2019s efforts to recruit and retain businesses in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses will often locate in communities or regions that can produce the talent,\u201d Magner said. \u201cWe are in a really good position, where I see RISD and PISD CTE programs really helping us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Richardson ISD continues to grow its Career and Technical Education, or CTE, offerings, the programming will soon…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[61725,61726,60076,32187,160,162,161,5810],"class_list":{"0":"post-148090","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-berkner-high-school","9":"tag-credit-union-of-texas","10":"tag-cte","11":"tag-cte-center","12":"tag-plano","13":"tag-plano-headlines","14":"tag-plano-news","15":"tag-richardson-isd"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}