As Houston ISD prepares to vote on dismantling magnet programs in four schools and expanding career-training programs across 10 high schools, a look inside the Barbara Jordan Career Center showed what will replace them.
For students already enrolled at the center, the experience is hands-on and career-focused. For thousands of families whose neighborhood programs are being eliminated and centralized here, however, the new changes raised as many questions as they answered about logistics and whether this model can serve students equitably.
In December, the HISD board first introduced the end of on-campus magnet programs, such as graphic design, entrepreneurship, and web development. It expanded the CTE offerings to include more “high-wage” and “high-demand” jobs, including health informatics, engineering, and networking systems, at the center.
Starting next school year, students from Furr, Heights, Kashmere, North Forest, Northside, Waltrip, Booker T. Washington, Mickey Leland, and Wheatley High Schools, as well as the Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center, will have the option to choose from 16 programs of study.
On Jan. 15, the HISD board will vote on whether to overhaul the magnet programs.
A campus built around trades and technology
Barbara Jordan currently serves about 900 students who bus in two to three days a week from campuses across Houston. Under HISD’s plan, that number is expected to grow to nearly 4,000 by 2028-29, with students attending in shifts of 900 to 1,000 at a time.
“We are very confident we’ll stay under the class size requirements,” said Gillian Quinn, Houston ISD’s executive director of career and technical education. “We have dual credit here for our partnership with HCC (Houston City College). We hope to expand that and continue having class sizes that meet those requirements, too.”
Addressing parents’ concerns of busing students to and from their home campuses to the center, Quinn said “a majority” of the buses are on time.
Inside the campus, students rotate between classrooms and industrial labs, where most courses spend about 15 minutes in lecture and the rest in hands-on training.
“We maximize choices for our families,” Quinn said, explaining that a student who starts in health informatics could pivot into pharmacy tech, medical assisting, or nursing tracks without transferring schools.
What students actually experience
For Gabriela Climac, an 11th-grade student from Sam Houston Math, Science, and Technology Center, the daily commute is manageable.
“It’s like 15 minutes,” she said. “You just get on the bus, and they take you here.”
In her automotive class, Climac works in a group of about 12 students, rotating through the lab and asking the instructor for help as needed. She said the program will help her earn an industry-recognized certificate, making it easier to secure a job after graduation.
In welding labs, students wear helmets and protective gear while practicing oxy-fuel cutting and metalwork. Jamiyah Cooper, an 11th-grader from Wheatley High School, said it took just one try to feel comfortable using the equipment. For Cooper, the experience has been transformative.
“Most girls don’t pick this field,” she said. “Most girls you see here do like nursing, medical assistant…not in the welding field.”
Workforce pipelines
HISD is also expanding its dual-credit partnerships with HCC. In culinary arts, Chef Tamika Lewis said students will soon be able to earn college credit while still in high school.
“Our partnership with HCC is brand new,” Lewis said. “Next year, we’re hoping to provide dual credit to our students, as well. It will help them to prepare for that transition from here to culinary school.”
Students typically work in small classes of 17 to 20, allowing instructors to accommodate mixed grade levels and diverse experiences.
One of the other new investments is cybersecurity and networking. A half-finished lab now marked with chalk outlines will soon house racks of servers and wall-sized monitors displaying live cyber simulations. Students will spend two class periods per day at Barbara Jordan, allowing them to complete multiple programs of study and later specialize through practicums.
Why HISD says it can’t stay decentralized
District leaders repeatedly returned to one argument: Money.
Replicating these labs at multiple campuses would be “incredibly expensive,” Quinn said. She added that concentrating resources at Barbara Jordan allows them to keep upgrading without abandoning programs as enrollment fluctuates.
Expansion plans
Beyond the existing campus, HISD is planning a massive expansion that will house robotics, engineering, manufacturing, drones, HVAC, plumbing, and other trades. The new building will be connected to the existing one and is expected to open in 2027.
The expansion coincides with Superintendent Mike Miles’ plan to finance a new CTE center using roughly $180 million in lease-revenue bonds, a mechanism that does not require voter approval.
HISD officials insist transportation and attendance will not be barriers. Any interested student can participate in the programs offered.
During community meetings held by HISD to communicate the changes, parents and trustees warned that forcing students to travel across the city for programs their schools already have could drive families away, accelerating the same enrollment decline HISD says it is trying to solve.
