Re-envisioning Spaces for Career and Technical Education

Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs have come a long way in recent years. It’s time for the spaces they’re taught in to catch up.

In the past, high school success was measured by factors like on-time graduation rates, standardized test scores, and the number of students accepted into colleges. The goal was to graduate students who were prepared for either college or the workforce. In today’s most innovative school districts, the educational model has shifted toward ensuring that every student graduates with a concrete plan for their career and have taken steps to implement it—whether that means being enrolled in college, enlisted in the military, or employed at a business.

This shift toward early career planning gives students a greater sense of purpose, allowing them to understand that they are not just learning to learn, but working toward specific life goals. Today’s CTE programs—found in middle schools, high schools, community colleges, and at programs like Code Next at Michigan Central Station—present opportunities for students to develop skill sets that transcend the boundaries of post-secondary education.

While learning goals have evolved, the spaces in which many CTE programs are taught have not kept up with the pace of change. Cutting-edge classes in mechatronics and geospatial information systems are shoehorned into former woodshops. We believe CTE programs—and students—deserve better: learning environments that are as sophisticated as the careers they envision.

The new Advanced Career Education (ACE) Center at Hermitage High School clusters culinary, hospitality, and marketing education spaces around a central forum where students execute real events.

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From Vo-Tech to CTE

Modern CTE is very different from the vocational-technical (vo-tech) programs of the past. While vo-tech programs mostly focused on fields like auto repair and cosmetology that students could enter directly from high school, today’s CTE programs encompass a variety of high-growth industries that may require additional training or schooling. The goal is for students to have identified a career path, built relevant skills, and developed a plan to achieve it, whether or not they can embark on it right away.

Since 1984 the federal Department of Education has provided guidance for CTE programs through the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, most recently reauthorized in 2018 (Perkins V). Under this law, states can receive federal assistance for programs that prepare students for “high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand occupations in current or emerging professions,” giving them “the knowledge and skills needed to keep the United States competitive.”

States distribute Perkins V funding to local school districts to support CTE programs in “career clusters” relevant to the local economy. While automotive and cosmetology programs are still offered, CTE also includes high-tech fields like cybersecurity, healthcare, robotics, and logistics.

Some school districts are taking CTE programs even further by forming industry partnerships, creating a pipeline from the classroom to the workforce. Local businesses and institutions may provide input on the curriculum and offer mentorship, internship, or job shadowing opportunities. In some cases, school districts have located CTE programs near major employers to make these opportunities easily accessible to as many students as possible.

Map of Henrico County with locations of major medical, broadcast, and hospitality / retail / entertainment employers near the ACE Center at Hermitage High School and major manufacturing, residential construction, and logistics / vehicle maintenance employers near the ACE Center at Highland Springs High School. — Henrico County Public Schools strategically distributed CTE programs between the ACE Centers at Hermitage and Highland Springs High Schools based on geographic concentrations of relevant employers.

Design Principles for CTE

Given that the goals of modern CTE programs are very different from traditional vo-tech programs, many schools need to update their learning environments. We’ve developed the following design principles for CTE spaces that prepare students for the modern workforce. Whether we’re renovating an existing building or designing an entirely new one, we use these principles to create spaces that support the hands-on, collaborative nature of skills-based learning.

Our school board and superintendent and county manager and board of supervisors have made [the ACE Centers] possible, but Quinn Evans is the one who put pen to paper to take this to the next level and make this real for our students.

Mac Beaton | Director of Workforce and Career Development, Henrico County Public Schools

1. Model Real-World Work Environments

CTE spaces should look and feel more like professional workplaces than traditional schools, with the same equipment students will be using on the job. We work closely with educators to determine what equipment is needed now while also planning for future flexibility.

Collaborative learning is a large part of many CTE programs, reflecting the team-based nature of modern work. We design shared workspaces that allow for collaboration between disciplines and a variety of breakout spaces for small-group projects.

Culinary arts students work in the commercial kitchen. — Reynolds Community College culinary arts students use the full commercial kitchen at the Kitchens at Reynolds to prepare grab-and-go items for an adjacent café.

Students participate in activities inside one of the classrooms built for construction trade programs. — At the ACE Center at Highland Springs High School, students in the four construction trades programs—carpentry, electricity, HVAC, and masonry—work in a shared space and take part in interdisciplinary building projects like they would on a job site.

2. Provide Transparency and Visibility Between Spaces

Learning in CTE programs should be highly visible—both in terms of the process of learning and the final products of the student efforts. Transparency between corridors and classrooms piques students’ interest in different programs, while display spaces allow students to show off their work. Placing CTE facilities in a prominent location within the school or campus signals that these programs are a source of pride.

When learning is on display, acoustic isolation between spaces is essential. For example, a “loud” space like veterinary technician lab with barking dogs should be isolated from a space that requires quiet, like a broadcasting studio.

Students engage in activities inside a classroom with large windows out into the hallway. — Labs at the Career and Technical Center at Hull are visually open to corridors, encouraging passing students to take an interest in all the Center’s educational offerings.

We placed display cases outside marketing classrooms at Courtland High School so students can display projects and practice merchandising.

3. Support Connections to potential employers

With many industries facing challenges in developing and maintaining a skilled workforce, CTE programs are essential for preparing the next generation of workers. States identify high-growth industries in their applications for Perkins V funding, and school districts often drill down even further to target major area employers.

To support ties to local businesses and institutions, CTE spaces must allow for visitor access while maintaining student safety. Securing entry points; locating the career center, mentoring rooms, and any other spaces visitors use near the main entry; and providing administrators clear sightlines into them maintain a secure learning environment.

Rendering of a students gathering at tables in a large commons space. — The commons at Albemarle Career Exploration Academy Lambs Lane does triple duty as an entry atrium, student cafeteria, and flexible presentation and assembly space capable of hosting career fairs and other visitor-heavy events.

Rendering of the outside of the Peake Childhood Center's second campus. — The Peake Childhood Center’s second campus will house a dedicated space for a local community college’s early childhood education students, who will take classes and student-teach at the same location.

4. Plan for Flexibility and Adaptability as Needs Evolve

CTE spaces should always have up-to-date equipment so students can train on the same devices they’ll be using on the job. Between this imperative and CTE’s focus on emerging career pathways, spaces that house these programs can become outdated quickly. The key to designing “future-proof” CTE spaces is flexibility and adaptability.

Infrastructure like power outlets and data connections should be plentiful and easily reconfigured. Furniture should be easily moveable so spaces can be reconfigured as needs change. When space is available, we will provide a master plan for future building additions and design with connections to them in mind. These measures ensure that CTE spaces can adapt to support the needs of career pathways that may not even exist yet.

Floor plan of Davis Aerospace Technical High School with CTE classrooms, administration suites and conference rooms, kitchen and dining areas, security rooms, restrooms, and more. — Davis Aerospace Technical High School provides programs in drone piloting and maintenance. To support these emerging career paths, our design for its new facility provides large, flexible spaces that can be adapted as needs change.

Students inside a culinary arts classroom at the ACE Center at Hermitage High School. — The culinary arts classrooms at the ACE Center at Hermitage High School feature plug-and-play equipment walls with continuous ventilation hoods and multiple power and water access points, allowing large equipment to be easily changed out.

5. Promote Sustainability and Student Wellness

Like all learning environments, we design CTE spaces with sustainability and wellness in mind. While it can be challenging to achieve a third-party sustainable certification for spaces that house power-hungry equipment, daylighting and efficient mechanical systems create healthier and more energy-efficient buildings regardless of whether they achieve certification.

Biophilic design—design that mimics nature through strategies like the incorporation of organic shapes, natural light, and views of the outdoors—supports student wellness, as do indoor-outdoor learning spaces with roll-up doors that allow students to work outside when weather permits.

Rendering of a shop space inside the Southeastern CTE Annex. — At the new Southeastern CTE Annex, high clerestory windows in shop spaces will let in natural light while maintaining perimeter wall space for equipment.

Rendering of the outside of Albemarle Career Exploration Academy Lambs Lane that features a courtyard and rain garden. — Our design for the Albemarle Career Exploration Academy Lambs Lane incorporates a secure maker courtyard that can be accessed by multiple programs. In addition, a rain garden at the main entry provides pleasant views and naturally filters stormwater before returning it to the Rivanna River watershed.

6. LEVERAGE the Building as a Teaching Tool

CTE programs present an opportunity for the building itself to serve as a teaching tool. When we leave building structures and systems exposed, students studying construction, architecture, and engineering can see how a building comes together. We can design mechanical rooms with extra space so that classes can tour them and learn about building operations firsthand. Real-time energy use data can be displayed in hallways, reinforcing lessons about energy efficiency and resource management.

Students participate in class activities inside a lab space, which has intentionally open ceilings, at ACE Center at Highland Springs High School. — Ceilings in the lab spaces at ACE Center at Highland Springs High School are left open so construction trades students can learn from the building’s infrastructure.

Rendering of the inside of the Veditz Vocational Building. — Our design for the Veditz Vocational Building exposes structural components like I-beams and labels structural load paths.

Focus on the Future

CTE is transforming the way students prepare for the future by providing them with authentic, hands-on learning experiences that translate directly to their career, whether it begins immediately after graduation or requires additional study.

As architects specializing in design for education, we help innovative CTE programs further their goals by providing flexible spaces that support collaboration, industry partnerships, and student wellness. While we can’t foresee all of the exciting careers the students who use our buildings will undertake, we can create spaces that help get them there.