Amy Vance, Montgomery ISD CTE director, told trustees March 18 that the district has expanded career and technical education offerings, increased industry‑based certifications, and added junior‑high pathways in preparation for the district’s new CTE center. Vance also announced she will not be returning to the district next year.

“As the last accountability report shows, we were over 60 percent of our graduating seniors with industry‑based certifications,” Vance said, and her coordinator Toni Tennison added that the district recorded roughly 850 certifications in the most recent year, which the presenters said outpaces the state average for completers.

Vance described programmatic progress: 20 complete programs of study, expansion of junior high credits to build cohorts, partnerships with local employers and post‑secondary institutions (Lone Star College, Sam Houston State University and local medical programs), and ongoing advisory committees. She told trustees the district had added automotive, welding and construction pathways at campus sites so the CTE center will open with two years of cohorts rather than one.

Vance thanked the board and district leadership for support and said she would continue to work through the transition until a successor is in place. Trustees and staff publicly thanked Vance for four years leading the program and emphasized the need to sustain recruitment and junior‑high outreach to feed the new CTE facility when it opens.

Vance’s presentation included data on weighted funding and how CTE FTEs generate state funding; staff highlighted that 55% of CTE funding returns to CTE programs and staffing and that the district’s state CTE allocation has grown year over year.

Trustees asked about recruitment strategies for junior high students and about sustaining certification rates; Vance and Tennison described plans for fifth‑ and eighth‑grade outreach, more junior‑high electives for high‑school credit, advisory committees and employer partnerships.