Davis School District to build CTE magnet center in west Kaysville
This screen grab from a Davis School District board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, shows a rendering of the exterior of a career and technical education center set to be built in west Kaysville.
This screen grab from a Davis School District board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, shows a rendering of the interior of a career and technical education center set to be built in west Kaysville.
This screen grab from a Davis School District board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, shows the layout of a career and technical education center set to be built in west Kaysville.
KAYSVILLE — The Davis School District will begin to expand its career and technical education offerings in 2022 with the opening of a magnet school in west Kaysville.
At the center, the district will centralize and expand some of the CTE programs it currently offers, as well as establish new fields of instruction.
“This makes a difference for students every single day in their lives,” said Superintendent Reid Newey at a school board meeting Tuesday. “That’s what CTE creates for our students every day — opportunity that they didn’t have before.”
Among the subjects covered at the location, Assistant Superintendent Logan Toone told the board, are cybersecurity and information technology, medical assisting and pharmacy technology, entrepreneurship, unmanned aircraft and digital media. Davis Technology College will partner in administering some of the courses.
Students who register for classes at the center will remain enrolled in their home schools, Toone said. The district has arranged for buses to transport students from every high school in the district to the center before and after class.
“I’ve heard the word opportunity used a lot … and that’s what this is all about,” said Brian Hunt. “This center is going to provide amazing opportunities for all of our high school students throughout the county and the district.”
Hunt is currently the principal of Northridge High School in Layton. He will leave to be an administrator at the CTE center, Toone said.
Photo supplied, Davis School District
This screen grab from a Davis School District board meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, shows the planned location of a career and technical education center set to be built in west Kaysville.
Participants will only be at the center for a portion of the day, and only some days out of the week. They will attend a double block class period, during which students will spend the extended time absorbing in-depth instruction and completing hands-on projects.
The first courses will be available in January 2022, after the building is completed, and will only include semester-length offerings. Students can begin to register for yearlong classes the next fall.
The Davis School District is currently collecting bids to select a construction company to oversee the project.
A name for the center is slated to be finalized next month. Toone said the district assembled a committee of parents, staff and administrators from schools throughout Davis County to propose options for a name. They came up with Catalyst Center and Synergy Center, though the majority of the committee favored the former. The school board will vote on the name at its next meeting on Feb. 2.
Toone said the names were selected because of the meaning they carry and how they contribute to the vision of the CTE center. CTE aims to put students on the path to obtaining a post-secondary education or advanced training and eventually starting a career.
According to data from the Utah State Board of Education, approximately 171,489 students enrolled in CTE courses during the 2019-20 academic year. Those who qualify as a CTE concentrator, or complete specific requirements in a single field of study, had a 96.3% graduation rate last year — more than eight points above the statewide mark of 88.2%.
“To have a strong district, it’s critical that we have a really strong CTE program, and that’s one of the hallmarks of Davis School District,” Newey said.