Houston-Area K–12 District Breaks Ground on New CTE Center

The Brazosport Independent School District in Freeport, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center at Brazosport High School, according to a news release. The 76,000-square-foot facility is being funded through a 2019 bond and has an estimated completion date of December 2024. The district partnered with VLK Architects for the building’s design.

“VLK is very fortunate to have partnered with Brazosport ISD in the design of the Brazosport High School CTE Center,” said VLK Architects Principal Monika Castillo. “The new building and addition will allow the district to continue delivering instruction for the betterment of their students’ futures.”

The new building will connect directly to the main school and offer specialized spaces for programs including cosmetology, floral design, veterinary technology, journalism, and others. It will also feature workshops for welding, architectural engineering, and construction, each with a dedicated classroom space and shop area with access to an outdoor, secured workspace. The new spaces were designed to include natural light and exterior finishes that complement the rest of campus.

The news release reports that the cosmetology lab will include installations for hair styling, pedicures and manicures, and facial treatments, while the vet tech lab will have space for animal treatment and grooming. The facility will also include a podcast room, green screen room, and control room for the school’s AV and multimedia production programs.

“Our new Career and Technical Education building will serve as a hub of innovation, fostering creativity, collaboration, and hands-on learning,” said Brazosport ISD Superintendent Danny Massey. “This facility will provide our students with access to cutting-edge technology, modern workshops, and industry-standard equipment across a wide range of disciplines. Together, we will build not only a physical structure for our students today, but also a legacy of excellence for generations to come.”

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Minnesota District Opens New PreK–12 School

    Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop Schools in Gibbon, Minn., recently announced that construction is complete on a new, $68.9-million school for students in grades PreK–12, according to a news release.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.