Here's how South Texas schools will spend $7.8 million for CTE programs

Olivia Garrett, Corpus Christi Caller Times
·4 min read

The community room at Del Mar College’s Oso Creek Campus was full of giant checks Wednesday afternoon.

One after another, 11 South Texas school districts took home hundreds of thousands and, in several cases, more than $1 million in grant funding to support career and technical programs.

In this 2016 file photo, Woodsboro High School student Justin Spears competes in a welding competition the Nueces County Junior Livestock Show at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown.
In this 2016 file photo, Woodsboro High School student Justin Spears competes in a welding competition the Nueces County Junior Livestock Show at the Richard M. Borchard Regional Fairgrounds in Robstown.

The Texas Workforce Commission awarded nearly $7.8 million in Jobs and Education for Texans grant funds to area school districts and Coastal Bend College.

  • Alice ISD — $216,716 for equipment to train 126 nursing students in partnership with Coastal Bend College

  • Aransas Pass ISD — $705,255 for equipment to train 99 physician assistants and $712,500 for equipment to train students in welding professions in partnership with Del Mar College

  • Rockport-Fulton ISD — $657,089 to train 88 students as water vessel pilots in partnership with DMC

  • Bloomington ISD — $54,806 to train 30 students as chefs in partnership with Victoria College

  • Brooks County ISD — $712,500 for welding equipment and $301,506 for equipment for a nursing program in partnership with DMC and $192,182 for equipment to train students in HVAC installation with Lamar Institute of Technology

  • Coastal Bend College — $333,352 for equipment to train an additional 80 nursing students

  • Corpus Christi ISD — $389,253 for the district’s maritime program in partnership with DMC

  • Gregory-Portland ISD — $164,554 for welding equipment in partnership with DMC

  • Skidmore-Tynan ISD — $509,101 for welding equipment in partnership with DMC

  • Tuloso-Midway ISD — $712,500 for equipment to train an initial 225 students as medical assistants and $687,738 for welding equipment to train 152 students in partnership with DMC

  • West Oso ISD — $90,108 for equipment to train 130 students as radiologic technicians in partnership with DMC

  • Woodsboro ISD — $682,237 for equipment to train students as medical assistants and $665,394 for welding equipment in partnership with DMC

Corpus Christi ISD used the funding to purchase 12 simulators for the maritime program, which allow students to virtually steer a boat and learn about navigation, CCISD CTE coordinator Melody Pro said. The geographical settings are based on the Port of Corpus Christi.

At Gregory-Portland ISD, new welding equipment will allow students to be more competitive in the workforce and increase the capacity of the program, CTE director Hilda Salinas said.

West Oso ISD dedicated grant funds to the West Oso High School health science academy, purchasing an Anatomage Table for virtual surgeries and dissections.

West Oso ISD interim Superintendent Kimberly Moore, right, shakes hands with Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Bryan Daniel on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Del Mar College. West Oso ISD and 11 other South Texas educational institutions were presented with Jobs and Education for Texans Grants from the Texas Workforce Commission.
West Oso ISD interim Superintendent Kimberly Moore, right, shakes hands with Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Bryan Daniel on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at Del Mar College. West Oso ISD and 11 other South Texas educational institutions were presented with Jobs and Education for Texans Grants from the Texas Workforce Commission.

West Oso ISD interim Superintendent Kimberly Moore said the equipment will serve the school’s EKG and phlebotomy programs, as well as students in anatomy and physiology courses.

Aransas Pass ISD PTECH/CTE coordinator Matthew Esqueda said the funding will allow the district to expand its welding shop from eight to 24 booths, increasing capacity from about 50 students this year to about 90 signed up next year. For the district’s health science program, the funds will result in new patient care beds, phlebotomy stations and virtual reality anatomy tools.

Rockport-Fulton ISD, formally known as Aransas County ISD, launched a maritime science program this year. Maritime science teacher Joshua Nguyen said the funding will go toward simulators.

Nguyen trains students on the water, but it can be difficult to schedule time for students to get out on a boat. Additionally, students will be able to use the simulators to learn what to do if something goes wrong on the boat and they need to make repairs.

This year, about 90 students took a maritime studies course. Next year, 220 students are signed up at Rockport-Fulton High School, and Nguyen also plans to open up the program to middle school students.

Lenora Keas, Del Mar College executive vice president and chief operation officer, said that the educational partnerships created by the grants are “propelling” CTE training in the region to a new level.

“They place in the students’ fingertips the expert instructors and advanced equipment they need to be career ready in fields that are hiring and paying well in the Coastal Bend,” Keas said.

Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Bryan Daniel said that the high number of grants awarded to Coastal Bend schools shows that there are strong partnerships in the community and that schools are actively seeking out opportunities for students.

“I think it’s a testament to them taking the programs very seriously and having a successful program in place,” Daniel said.

New Del Mar College program trains electrical workers 40 feet in the air

Coastal Bend schools invest in career and technical programs

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: How South Texas schools will spend $7.8 million for CTE programs