Stronger together: a rural CTE partnership in the Panhandle

From Texas School Business Magazine

Published December, 2025

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The collaboration’s funding comes from multiple sources. A Texas Rural Pathways Network grant supports the full-time coordinator position, and the Greater Texas Foundation dollars and in-kind support from Empower Schools covered startup needs, from classroom backdrops to student lanyards.

Just as important as the funding are lessons shared by other districts. Byrd credits an early visit to the Rural School Innovation Zone in South Texas with beginning to shape the program’s vision. “They answered a lot of questions for us,” he says. “And we spent the next two years developing how we can meet the needs of our students.” Ultimately, not all of the five districts that joined that visit are currently involved in the collaboration, but Byrd is hopeful that more will join in coming years. The team built the programs around workforce demand, not just student interest. Region 16’s assistant director for strategic programs, Chris Nies, estimates that of the 26 counties that make up their quadrant of the Texas Panhandle, 80-90% of jobs cluster in just two of those counties.

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