This is the first article in a four-part series in partnership with Kilgore Economic Development Corporation to highlight Kilgore High School’s CTE success during February, Career & Technical Education Month nationally and statewide.
Kilgore educators, industry leaders spotlight Career & Technical Education opportunities preparing students for top jobs here
Mention CTE these days, and many folks still conjure images of woodshop, Home Ec and other vocational education programs.
That’s the old term, says Kilgore High School’s Misty Lewis, and it’s the old understanding of career preparation.
“Nothing wrong with it at all, but it was woodshop, maybe a little bit of welding, maybe some business class,” the KHS Career & Technical Education Director says. “It has expanded so much over the past few years. We have so many programs of study, the opportunities are just endless.
“It truly prepares any student no matter what their post-secondary goals are.”
If that’s college, that’s what Kilgore ISD is preparing them for. If the plan’s to enter the workforce soonest, whether as an employee or entrepreneur, KISD is equipping students for a wide variety of lucrative careers right here.
“I think it hits on all fronts.”
The month of February puts CTE in the spotlight nationally and statewide. Naturally, Kilgore Economic Development Corporation is a champion of efforts at Kilgore ISD and other area schools.
“CTE in particular is very important because it prepares students for high-demand, high-wage and, in our case, industrial careers,” KEDC Executive Director Lisa Denton said. “I think it’s important it starts at the high school level. They can see how what they’re learning connects to local, actual jobs.”
It factors into not just employer retention – ensuring companies have a pipeline of skilled workers locally, now and in the future – but also in recruitment, showing the large-scale prospects considering Kilgore the degree of success they can cultivate when they invest in this community.
Drawing from a highly-skilled pool of workers, “We are able to connect them with our existing employers to give the companies the ability to expand,” Denton said. Likewise, “If we can continue to show prospects we have that strong workforce here, sometimes that’s the edge we need.”
Next week, juniors and seniors from across the area will descend on Henderson and the 2026 Jobs Y’all Career Exploration Fair. It gives the students a front-and-center view of the careers for which their CTE programs are equipping them.
Importantly, Denton added, it also helps young people realize East Texas isn’t a springboard to opportunities elsewhere, it’s an area where they can build successful careers.
“They can find those positions right here at home,” she said. “It’s not the industrial trades of the ’50s; these are clean industrial jobs that pay high wages, that don’t require four- or six-year degrees, so they’re not saddled with debt.
“With CTE and other workforce training opportunities, we can satisfy companies’ demand for talent to fill high-paying jobs. That means a lot for Kilgore.”
Kilgore High School senior Lauren Shaw’s an enthusiastic participant in CTE through the Health Science concentration, preparing her for a career in the medical field – and providing a head start along the way.
“I think the CTE definitely helps give students a lot more opportunities than some people think,” Shaw said, with hands-on learning that often comes from professionals still working in the respective fields. “When you have a teacher who definitely knows what they’re doing, that definitely helps us understand things so much better.
CTE pathways at KHS cover everything from welding and construction to health science, education, law, agriculture, architecture as well as marketing, media and graphic design.
“I think definitely everyone is learning what they want to do and learning what they should be learning in each class,” Shaw said. “A lot of my friends are in fashion marketing or work at the Spirit Depot or are in welding. They all talk so highly about it and love to do the hands-on learning and work on that pathway.”
Meanwhile, students are collecting dual credit, saving time and expense in college ahead, if that’s their post-secondary path. Likewise, the Health Science pathway preps students for certifications now – for Shaw, that’ll be for PCT (Patient Care Technician) and EKG (electrocardiogram) when exams arrive in April and May. There’s also Phlebotomy and Dentistry Assistant.
“I feel very confident. What helps out is my teacher is a nurse outside of teaching,” providing real world, up-to-date insights: “Anytime we’re confused or we need help understanding something, she helps us understand it from her level.”
Choosing the health science pathway as an eighth grader, Shaw’s completed year-long programs her freshman and sophomore years followed by two different courses as a junior and two more this year. She’s looking beyond graduation to Tyler Junior College and the echocardiography program – Shaw developed an interest for the specialty shortly before Christmas Break when classwork at Kilgore College spotlighted the circulatory system, EKGs, and AEDs.
“I just thought it was very interesting and I was very drawn toward it,” Shaw added. After about two-and-a-half years of additional training, she’s willing to move for her career, but Shaw prefers to stay local and embrace the opportunities here: “I plan on going to Longview Regional and working through their cardiology department.”
With clinicals starting soon, Shaw and her classmates have already had chances to meet with current workers in the field, she added.
“When we did our orientation last Friday we got to meet with a bunch of people at Good Shepherd,” Shaw said. “They gave us a tour of the hospital, they showed us all the floors. We got to meet a lot more people than we thought we would.”
Whatever a student’s end-goal, KHS is helping them build a foundation, Lewis says, well beyond traditional lessons. For example, if a student’s focused on finance, KHS is providing classes to equip them for the hard classes they’ll need to take in college.
“They are prepared and they are ready,” she said. If they’re bound for a trade school, “We’re showing them what those are about. Our welding team in particular, they go to different trade schools for their competitions – our kids are getting to not only go compete and show off their skills, they get to see the real environment they’ll be working in.”
Students like Shaw can complete their certifications and go right into the workforce. With numerous options, whether broadly or tailored for the individual’s goals, vocational training in school is years beyond one-size-fits-most.
“Honestly and truly, the possibilities are just endless,” says Lewis. “That’s why I love CTE and am so passionate about it.”
Texas Education Agency sets the number of CTE programs, she added, and schools develop their local programs from those options, tailored to the area. It covers a range that reaches high-wage, high-demand jobs: “We look at that data and we look at what fits in East Texas.
“That was the goal from its inception, to show our students what is available here.”
