Louisiana High School Opens New CTE Center

A Louisiana high school recently completed a series of construction and renovation projects with the ribbon-cutting for its new Career Technical Education Center. West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville, La., renovated its old gymnasium as a centralized home for its CTE program, according to a news release. The other projects recently completed include a new gymnasium and a Freshman Academy, and all three cost a total of $14.2 million.

The news release reports that the CTE Center houses programs like welding, culinary arts, EMR training, and CNA training. These classes were previously held at local technical colleges, and having to transport students back and forth to these locations during the school day required precise scheduling.

“We had to be very rigid in scheduling,” said West Feliciana School District Superintendent Hollis Milton. “Now, we can be agile. Kids can have a flexible, dual experience here at school. You can take off your welding gear and head straight across the courtyard to Honors English.”

The Freshman Academy involved a renovation of the front portion of the school and includes new classrooms, a Freshman Commons area, science labs, an administrative suite and a more clearly defined entrance to the school. Its purpose is to create a smoother transition for incoming freshman, giving them their own dedicated academic and social spaces that are still part of the larger school. “With all this work, we’re aiming to improve the student experience,” said Milton.

West Feliciana High School Freshman Academy
West Feliciana High School Freshman Academy Exterior
Photo courtesy of Tipton Associates

The new gym features a large lobby, and the weight room offers floor-to-ceiling views of the football field. “It’s a place to compete and to celebrate,” Milton said.

West Feliciana High partnered with architecture firm Tipton Associates and general contractor Stuart & Co. for the project’s construction.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Malibu High School Campus Completes $102M Phase 1 of Construction

    Malibu High School in Malibu, Calif., recently announced that it has completed phase 1 of construction for its new campus, a news release reports. The first phase consisted of developing and modernizing the site of a former elementary school into a new, 70,000-square-foot, two-story facility.

  • Empowering People Through Smart, Sustainable Campuses

    Sustainability is facing increasing scrutiny, with some questioning its costs and priorities. Yet for universities, it remains an essential driver of resilience, operational efficiency and long-term competitiveness. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that sustainable transformation is not just about reducing energy consumption and emissions to comply with tightening regulations ‒ it’s about creating vibrant, comfortable environments where people can thrive, innovate and connect. For university leadership, this is a complex balancing act, with rising energy costs and limited budgets only adding to the challenge.

  • New eBook Shares Guidelines on Building CTE Centers

    Career and Technical Education (CTE) curriculum and resources provider iCEV recently announced the publication of a new eBook sharing guidance and insights on building new CTE facilities, according to a news release.

Digital Edition