WACO, Texas — Administrators at Midway High School said their new Career and Technology Education wing will build pathways for future careers.
The new wing connects to older parts of the building that were built in 2003, something Midway High Schools' Superintendent, George Kazanas said forges the past and the future together.
Traci Marlin, the Communications Director for Midway ISD, added that the futures of their students are built with interactive learning and hands-on classes that provide real world experience.
"This brings so much more than just the traditional education, it brings our students into classes where they get certifications," Marlin said. "They get industry grade experience."
Marlin said the building mimics the real world. She added that when you walk in, it should feel like being in a real work space or secondary institution.
Classrooms line the halls on the first and second floors. They're designed in a way that promotes collaboration. Outside of every classroom are common areas where students can work together.
Along with collaboration spaces, the addition of many windows allows for the space to be filled with natural light.
Students can choose from an array of classes, like fashion design, engineering, robotics, health sciences, and more.
Students can build and fly drones while fashion design students finally have enough room to sew and collaborate, said Jess Wheeler, the Director of College and Career Reediness at Midway.
"We have a full robotics lab where kids can build robots they can build and fly drones inside the safety of the building," Wheeler said.
Wheeler added that the reason these classes promote what students need so well is because they were designed by them.
When the project began in 2018, the ISD asked for students, parents, and administration to help with the designs. Wheeler said the some students even walked the halls with the architects to go over designs.
"It's that – oh the kids said that well we're doing these things, and then design team went and put that together to make that happen," Wheeler said.
Marlin said students can also earn certificates in the career they would like to pursue, setting them up for the future. Kazanas added the main reason they opened this new wing.
"We want students to understand the building blocks it takes in terms of meeting their interests, we want them to explore," Kazanas said.
Wheeler added that this is the time and place that students can figure out whether they want to take on a certain career path. He said he hopes this excites students for their futures.
"The hope is they can find their path way when they leave here and that they're headed in the direction that they want to be in," Wheeler said.