CTE Program in Brighton Gives Students Pathway To Success

The 2025-2026 school year has just begun, and that means students are filling up local classrooms and friends are reuniting again after a long summer. Over at Brighton High School, this also marks the third year of its CTE (Career and Technical Education) program focused on giving students a pathway to a successful future. 

“What we’ve focused on is what we call the three E’s: preparing kids for enrollment into a two- and/or four-year college, employment right into the industry from high school or enlistment, if they choose to go into the military services route,” said Michael Burke, CTE Director. “Having those options to know that they can do that with our CTE programs, we’ve been very intentional in making sure that they have an industry certification, an entry-level industry certification, so those kids, whether or not they go to college, can step right into a job.”

What is the CTE Program? 

The CTE program is a system that is designed to give students the opportunity to enroll in courses, activities and learning experiences that connect the classrooms to real-world professions. It allows students to join the courses that are tied with the industries of their choice early on in their careers and get hands-on experiences as interns, apprentices or jobs post-high school. 

Some examples of courses that students can enroll in at the CTE program at Brighton High are agriculture, audio/video production, automotive, biomedical science, construction, EKG technician, patient care technician, phlebotomy technician, computer science, engineering, graphic design, sports medicine and many more. 

“Most of our pathways [courses] have introductory-level courses for students to explore and get a sense of what it is,” said Jeanne Thompson, a counselor at Brighton High. “Then the internship, the work-based learning that we’re working on, is for our year two and three students who went through the pathway and are really committed to it. Some of our programs are age-based; for example, for our automotive courses, they have to be 16.” 

The new CTE program building was approved to be built back in 2021 after the 27J Schools community approved a $515 million school construction bond to fund construction of new schools and improvements to existing buildings. The new building/facilities opened for the 2023 school year, and ever since, the program has been thriving to guide students into a brighter future. 

“I think providing students with a robust and diverse experience that they can add to their resumes, and not only giving them those experiences through our internship program, students have the opportunity to go out and get hands-on, real-world experiences that they can leave with,” said Missy White, a work-based-learning coordinator for the CTE Program and a Brighton High School Alumna. “They almost have a leg up because they do have work experience on top of their education.”

Students’ perspective on CTE

Hayden Kirby, a senior at Brighton High School, has participated in the CTE engineering program for its entire three-year existence. He plans on attending CU Boulder, where he wants to pursue his degree in aerospace engineering. 

“What I most enjoy about the [engineering] program is learning and creating objects with the 3D printers and doing 3D modeling,” Kirby said. “I believe that being in this program has prepared me for my next steps because it helped me become a better note taker, problem solver and understand how certain things are built.” 

Another student on the automotive side says that being in the program has helped expand his knowledge when it comes to the industry. Senior Roryn Dodge has been part of the CTE program since his sophomore year and is now a TA for the automotive courses.

“I like working with my hands,” Dodge said. “I got to do everything from working on my own car to helping a lot of people working on their cars. I’ve learned most of my automotive knowledge here. I just like to build my knowledge, I’m doing automotive, welding and construction [courses]. I’m grateful for being able to work in a [automotive] shop in school because I never thought I would be able to do any of this in school.”

Are students more likely to get hired being in the program? 

While the CTE program sounds promising, the school district currently lacks data on its efficacy and whether or not students are more likely to be hired after participating. Still, Burke contends that because students are trained in skills that employers are currently looking for, they have a better chance of getting hired. 

“I would say, based on industry demand, most of our kids can find a job relatively quickly, depending on where they’re at,” Burke said. “[And] they’re more prepared to make an educated decision about what they want to do or how they can support themselves while they’re pursuing whatever goal that is.” 

Thompson, being a counselor at Brighton High School, works closely with CTE students and helps them stay on the right track for their future plans. She states that the program works closely with people in different industries to guide these students with the right knowledge of what these industries are looking for in their workers. 

“Depending on the trade, there is a demand [for it]. I know some aspects that they are cutting back and tightening their belts a little bit, but we’ve also heard from a lot of industry partners that they are looking for a skilled workforce,” Thompson said. “There’s a lot of people in the trades aging out, and they’re looking for skilled talent. We’ve been fortunate to have our programs hitting those [demand] moments at the right time, and we try to align [the demands] these industries are looking for.” 

CTE specialist Bradley Hardin shared a story about how he’s seen firsthand students land a job through their participation in the program. 

“We had a welding meeting with some teachers and students and with welders from the industry,” Hardin said. “One of the welders asked two of the students, ‘How long have you been in the welding program, and what are you doing after graduation?’ and the students didn’t know their plans. [The welder] then pushes his business card across the table and said, ‘Call me; I will hire you.’” 

Future plans for CTE

Brighton High’s CTE program is here to stay, and its future plans are to continue helping give students a chance to have successful careers post-high school. Not only does this program help these students develop the fundamental skills and knowledge they need, but it also provides them with the opportunity to obtain certifications for each necessary industry.  

According to Burke, at the end of the first year of the program, 817 students earned industry certifications, over 100 students were working as interns and 35% of Brighton High’s graduates had an industry certification or were in the CTE program. Burke and the rest of the faculty are still working to help these students develop these skills so that they can have a better life. 

“I think for us, it’s being versatile and continuing to put the [students] in situations where they feel empowered towards our mission for their future so that they can make educated decisions about how they want to live,” Burke said. 

Thompson agrees and intends to continue guiding her students toward a brighter future.

“It’s best to continue to expand our opportunities for students, and the more the better,” Thompson said. “[My goal] is to have students continue to have more access and keep building for them.”