Jacksonville Independent School District is a growing Texas district serving over 4,700 students each year. With a growing career and technical education (CTE) program, Jacksonville ISD is expanding its course offerings to provide additional opportunities for students.
Under CTE Director, Jeff Boyd, who is entering his tenth year with Jacksonville ISD, the district has experienced continual growth and interest in CTE programs ranging from agriculture to health science.
Jacksonville ISD has long partnered with iCEV to provide a comprehensive CTE curriculum for teachers and students. Boyd believes iCEV helps his instructors confidently prepare learners for career success.
“iCEV has always had a quality product,” says Boyd. “I think one of the things that sets them apart from the competition is staying connected to the instructors in the classroom and responding to feedback from those instructors.”
For Boyd and Jacksonville ISD, a curriculum that’s continually updated based on the input from educators in the field gives them the assurance that they’ll have resources to meet teachers’ most pressing needs in the classroom.
“I think iCEV has done a good job taking the comments and the feedback of those of us who are in the schools, and they use that feedback to improve the product to make it more user friendly and more of a ready-to-teach package for instructors,” Boyd shares.
This is especially important for a district like Jacksonville ISD as it navigates new academic standards set forth by Texas’ Proclamation 2024.
With Proclamation 2024 introducing a wide range of new courses and updated TEKS standards, many districts are searching for educational resources that meet these new requirements from the Texas Education Agency.
However, since iCEV is a continually updated curriculum aligned with the latest TEKS standards, Boyd is confident that Jacksonville ISD will continue to follow state requirements while offering expanded instruction to CTE students.
“One of the things I’ve always appreciated about iCEV is they ensure they are covering all of the TEKS that are out there,” Boyd says.
“Their product is a good source especially for younger teachers or nontraditional teachers to ensure that if they’re teaching the curriculum, then they’re covering the TEKS that are required for that course.”
iCEV has also been a valuable resource for Jacksonville ISD as it looks to expand its middle school programs and introduce younger learners to fields such as Science, Technology, Mathematics, and Engineering (STEM).
“We have a growing CTE program in our middle school. Being able to utilize the product across multiple campuses and multiple teachers is a big benefit to us,” Boyd states.
This past year, the district launched a new robotics program for middle school students. District leaders hope that giving these learners the opportunity to discover robotics in middle school will help them become excited about the prospect of pursuing STEM fields, including joining Jacksonville’s engineering program at the high school level.
With the seamless CTE curriculum experience provided by iCEV, the district believes it can convince more of its students to consider engineering as well as similar pathways, such as computer programming.
Recently, Jacksonville ISD expanded its relationship with iCEV to an enterprise license, which includes complete access to curriculum and certification preparation materials in 11 CTE subject areas, which Boyd believes will help his district prepare for future success.
“I liked the idea of having a product that would stay with us for the next four years, regardless of how much we grew or how we needed to modify our course offerings for students. We have a package that will fit us regardless of the growth we will experience over the next four years.”
With the new enterprise site license at their disposal, Boyd is convinced that Jacksonville ISD has the resources at its disposal to encourage students to become lifelong learners.
“Our kids understand where they come from. They come from a background of hard-working families, and they want to do everything they can to be successful.”
Ultimately, iCEV plays a significant role in Jacksonville ISD’s mission to deliver high-quality career and technical education to its students. Through providing robust instructional resources which satisfy current TEKS standards, Jeff Boyd has every confidence that iCEV will continue to help his district elevate its CTE programs and ensure long-term sustainability.
“We always try to keep it about the students,” says Boyd. “We want our students to be successful, and we want to prepare them for life after high school. The iCEV product helps us do that and gives us a tool to help our students and prepare them for a competitive marketplace. They’ve always been there for the teachers, and they’ve always tried to give instructors a product to meet their needs in the classroom.”
With full access to iCEV’s continually updated curriculum library, Jacksonville ISD knows they’ll have the materials they need for today’s students while preparing for tomorrow’s learners.
