CTE courses are designed to provide authentic learning experiences through an academically rigorous and industry-aligned curriculum. These courses are often hands-on and focused on the career that follows graduation. LHISD offers 20 CTE programs of study in areas like animation, construction, entrepreneurship, HVAC, animal and plant science, real estate and more. In these CTE classes, students have the opportunity to earn industry certifications, credit toward a post-secondary degree, and connections with future employers. 

“Liberty Hill ISD continually strives to provide the best Career and Technical Education program in the state,“ said Misty Taylor, CTE coordinator for LHISD. “We want our students to graduate ready for what comes next. The best way to do this is to stay on top of what our community workforce needs and equip our students with the necessary tools to succeed.”

We sat down with three CTE teachers to learn more about the classes they teach. 

Jeff Arnold- Liberty Hill High School (LHHS)

Jeff Arnold is the Forensic Science and Forensic Psychology teacher in the law enforcement track at LHHS. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps before going to UT Austin to study anthropology. He started teaching at LHHS six years ago and believes “this is the building I will retire from.” Like many CTE teachers, he brings a wealth of knowledge from the industry he teaches in and obtained his alternative teaching certification after time in the workforce. 

He currently teaches five Forensic Science courses that study the crime scene and everything from fingerprints on broken glass to evidence location. Additionally, he teaches two classes of Forensic Psychology that focuses on the mind and areas like criminal personalities, interrogation methods, cults and the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Over the years, Arnold has seen a growing interest in forensics among female students.

Arnold believes that the classes he teaches are more than just a fun elective. He is equipping students with a skill set before they make career investments in college. For Arnold, his students are “resupplying the work force in careers that serve our community.” LHHS offers two certifications inside the Law Enforcement track – Courtroom Testimony and Death Investigation. This year they have nine female students working toward these certifications. He is also the Panther CSI club sponsor and will have teams representing LHISD in the state-wide competition this semester.

Preston Cummings is a first-year teacher of agriculture & plant science at LRHS. He grew up on a cattle ranch and participated in Future Farmers of America (FFA) as a child. After college, he went to work at an accounting firm as part of their onboarding team. In that role, he found he enjoyed leadership development. He realized his impact could be greater if he went back into the classroom working with the next generation of job candidates. Cummings said, “I want to give my students employability skills that are real world – things like communication, being adaptable, problem solving and showing respect when someone knows more than you.” 

Cummings is a teacher by day and student at night as he works to complete his teacher certification training. He currently teaches small animal management, equine science, livestock and poultry production, welding, agricultural mechanics, agricultural structures and floral design. His classes have hands-on components from hatching eggs to propagating houseplants.

Cummings believes that CTE classes enhance the student’s experience. He said, “I’m trying to help students gain experience with their known and potential interests. Those interests can then be explored within the CTE classroom and connected to real world opportunities.” He has students exploring lawnmower repair business models, researching the feasibility of stocking the pond at the new LRHS campus next year, and writing a business plan with milk and soap from their small herd of goats.

CTE classes can also enforce the lessons taught in core classes. For example, Cummings has a student who struggled in math. When asked to apply those math skills to his welding project and create a bill of materials, the desire to understand the math concept became relevant and important to the student.

“No matter what you choose to do after high school, you have to apply for your next step. That's applying for a job, for a trade school, or for college,” he said. “You're not the only one who wants that spot. What are you doing right now, in high school, should prepare you to be the best candidate.”

Melissa Bodine followed the traditional route of a teacher and has been in the classroom for 26 years, 11 of those at LHISD. She spent her early career teaching math and slowly transitioned over to Computer Science. Today, she teaches Introduction to Computer Science and Fundamentals of Computer Science at LHMS. 

Her computer science classes include units on coding, programming, building a website, robotics, gaming, graphic design and more recently, artificial intelligence (AI). “I think CTE classes are important because they reinforce the core subjects in a different way,” Bodine said. For example, robotics will lean on their geometry knowledge when programming them using X and Y coordinates. When building a website, writing is needed. Bodine believes the “skills that are being taught in my classes students will use in real life.” 

When working with her middle school students, she enjoys hearing what interests them and helping them look at that path in their future. They research areas like if they need a degree and what kind, what is the job market for this job and what is the pay. She is especially proud of one of her students that she remembers being brilliant in middle school who started working for Google right out of high school.

Bodine recognizes that her class isn’t easy. Every year she has students that tell her that they took computer science thinking that we were going to play games. Instead, they end up making games and then playing them to test their programming skills. 

LHISD is grateful to our CTE teachers and the work they put in to making their students ready for what comes next. To learn more about the CTE offerings in Liberty Hill, visit https://sites.google.com/libertyhill.txed.net/cte.