The Career and Technical Education Center has been named a 2025-26 Project Lead The Way Distinguished School.
The CTE Center is among a select group of high schools across the U.S. honored for their commitment to increasing student access, engagement and achievement in Project Lead the Way programs. At the CTE Center, students can participate in PLTW cybersecurity and engineering programs, developing skills they need to succeed in an evolving future.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our students and staff to learning that goes beyond the classroom,” said Dianna Manuel, principal of the CTE Center. “Through our Project Lead the Way programs, students are solving real-world problems, collaborating with their peers and developing skills that will serve them in college, careers and whatever path they choose next.”
Frisco ISD offers a number of career and technical education courses starting in middle school, with optional pathways that can take students through their senior year and into internships. This future-ready approach helps students explore their interests and establish potential career goals.
Through Project Lead the Way’s activities- and problem-based instructional design, students come to understand how the knowledge and skills they develop in the classroom may be applied in everyday life.
To be eligible for the designation, the CTE Center had to meet specific criteria, including the number of PLTW courses available to students, the percentage of students enrolled in those courses, and the percentage of students taking more than one PLTW course.
Special congratulations to CTE Center teachers Valentin Cardenas, Robert Dahl, Daniel Flores, Kyla Heffernan, Terri Ho, Lowell Houk, Forrest Medcalf, Edgar Nunez, Clayton Patterson and Marcus Salmeron.
- Rachel McReynolds