The Frisco ISD Career and Technical Education Center boasts over 100 courses spanning over 25 programs of study to create “future-ready” students. From Baking, Esports and even Child Development, the “future-ready” curriculum ensures students step toward their dreams.
For future Adam Smiths, CTE offers classes such as Money Matters, Investment and Accounting to build a strong background in economics and finance.
“Economics has been a field I have had an interest in for a long time and through the Accounting 2 class I’ve been able to explore different aspects of finance hands-on,” Steve Sirixay said.
Through the programs at CTE, students are able to tackle challenging industry skills needed to enter and excel in the future after graduation.
“In Accounting 1 we learned how to record balance sheets and income statements which was really cool because I only ever saw those documents as something my parents handled,” Sirixay said. “It felt like a step into adulthood and into my future career.”
From dirt huts to pyramids and now skyscrapers, the history of architecture traces through different cultures, trends and periods. At CTE, courses such as Architectural Design foster the minds of those who will make abstract structures to last centuries.
“Right now we are working on the creative design of an observatory and how to combine the design and the environment around the site,” Andrew Nam said. “We make the site plan and floor plan of the building by using an AutoCAD program and we make the physical model of the building by using a laser cutting machine
The “future-ready” courses ensure students have valuable background knowledge before college and also help those unsure of their future to navigate a path for themselves.
“I want to study biophilic design, which is eco-friendly and sustainable architecture, in the future at college or architecture companies,” Nam said. “Thanks to this class, I will be able to study architecture more and design my own biophilic building in the future.
Students aspiring to create the next ChatGPT or a spaceship to take us out of the galaxy can also explore their interests through the four-year engineering program, Project Lead The Way.
“During freshman year I took Introduction to Engineering Design which solidified my goal to become an engineer. I continued this sophomore year with Principles of Engineering and I got to research an oil engineer in Alaska!” Aadith Perumbala said. “Junior year was Aerospace Engineering and now I’m in Engineering Design and Development.”
Compared to other classes in the PLTW program, Engineering Design and Development is completely up to the student and gives more hands-on experience.
“At the start of the year, we come up with a project by analyzing different problems in the world,” Akshay Santosh said. “The class structure is very open-ended so we can adjust and manage our plan according to our process. Right now we have two prototypes including a motion sensor doormat to combat porch pirates.”
This four-year-long program allows future engineers to explore the fundamentals and experience a taste of working with professionals before stepping into the real world.
“I would definitely recommend taking CTE courses for freshmen especially if you see yourself pursuing engineering in college,” Shriya Kesharaju Venkata said. “Even if you’re not going into engineering, I still believe you learn a lot of valuable skills that cannot be taught in a normal classroom”
