COLLIERVILLE, Tenn. (August 9, 2022) – For the third consecutive year, Collierville Schools--along with Collierville Partners in Education (PIE)—welcomed over 80 local industry leaders for an opportunity to engage with Collierville Schools teachers and learn more about the district’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Video of Dr. Gary Lilly

“Career and Technical Education in Collierville Schools is truly a unique opportunity for students in this community,” said CTE Supervisor Brett Heinrich. “With 19 programs of study and over 10 different industry certification options crossing 13 different career clusters, Collierville Schools offers multiple pathways to help students become career ready by the time they graduate from high school.”

Local industry partner feedback is critical to ensuring the continued success of these programs. Collierville PIE has been instrumental in facilitating meetings over the past three years and helping provide teachers with counterparts in those industries that align to their programs of study. 

"Having access to the titans of local business and industry has benefited our district in numerous ways,” said Dr. Gary Lilly, Director of Schools. “Through dialogue and shared purpose, we have leveraged these relationships to better understand the needs of our local workforce. PIE has helped us shape the curriculum and provide the tools so our students can develop the expertise needed to succeed after they leave high school."

As announced in July, the State of Tennessee will invest $500 million over the next four years to give all traditional, public middle and high schools the opportunity to establish an Innovative School Model. Funding will be awarded to schools as follows:

• Middle schools serving more than 100 students are eligible for up to $500,000.
• Schools combining both middle and high school grades that serve more than 100 students are eligible for up to $500,000.
• Middle schools and high schools serving less than 100 students are eligible for up to $200,000.
• High schools serving more than 100 students are eligible for up to $1,000,000.

Under this model, Collierville Schools expects to receive a total of $2,000,000 for the high school and the two middle schools.

“We are thankful to Dr. Lilly and our Board of Education members for their support in making CTE in Collierville Schools a first-class experience in West Tennessee,” added Mr. Heinrich. “The future is bright in Career and Technical education as seen through Governor Lee’s investment in Innovative School Models over the next four years. Our industry partners will be valuable resources as we look to add new programs that will give our students the skills necessary to compete in an ever-changing global economy.”

Collierville High School (CHS) will host its second annual Job Fair for students in Spring 2023 to help senior students become aware of job opportunities with local businesses.

The CTE program has also embraced Collierville Middle School and West Collierville Middle School with the introduction of Career Days for all eighth-grade students. In preparation for last year’s program, middle school students completed career interest inventories. 86% of students who were surprised at their recommended careers reported a subsequent interest in the jobs that they learned about during the event.

In addition to CTE’s involvement at CHS and both middle schools, all elementary schools in the district offer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) programs. Last year, student teams from both Tara Oaks Elementary and Sycamore Elementary represented Collierville Schools at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas.

Click here for more information about the CTE opportunities at Collierville High School.