CT High School takes shape as construction continues and school board chooses name, colors and mascot

ST. GEORGE — At the far end of town, near the southern border of the city and state, Washington County School District’s newest high school is coming together fast.

A view of ongoing construction at the CT High School site looking at the southwest corner of the building, St. George, Utah, April 5, 2022 | Photo by Ammon Teare, St. George News

The school’s official name will be the WCSD Career and Technical High School, approved by unanimous vote by the district’s Board of Education on March 28.

While Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects and Bud Mahas Construction are in charge of designing and assembling the physical structure, the school board and administrators like Principal Chris Homer are shaping the school’s identity as they prepare to welcome students by August 2023.

“We really hope to draw people into what’s going to be a magnificent building …the whole concept is to create a student that’s ready to either go straight into the workforce or well on their way with a couple years taken off a university pathway or whatever they choose,” Homer said. “It’s sort of one of a kind in the western United States.”

Homer, who’s been with the district for over two decades, will be leaving his position as principal at Hurricane Middle School to take the helm of the career and technical high school. He said the idea to build a magnet school to foster career-ready students was immediately popular when the district began discussing the topic seven years ago.

“There’re many schools where students will take classes at their home high school for the first half of the day, and then they’ll bus or find their way to a technical school,” Homer said. “The big difference for us is that we’re going to house academics and career and technical education in one building.”

Giving students a competitive edge 

Interest in career and technical education is on the rise regionally and across the country, with enrollment up at institutions of higher education like Dixie Technical College and Southwest Technical College. 

An artist’s rendering of the interior courtyard in the completed CT High School, Utah | Image courtesy of Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects, St. George News

For the new high school, the district drew a lot of inspiration from a similar magnet school in Texas – the Dr. Kirk Lewis Career and Technical High School in Houston. 

The local model may differ slightly in the particulars, but the overarching goal is to provide the same certificate-focused education to high schoolers interested in vocational careers.

“Students will be able to graduate not only with their high school diploma but also with a certificate in the field they’ve chosen,” said Steven Dunham, district communications director. “With that they will either be able to go right into the workforce and earn a livable wage, or they can further their education with a certificate that will help fund them as they’re getting higher education in that field.”

Upon admittance, students will select a career pathway or cluster to focus their experience. Some of the planned pathways include architecture and construction, business and marketing, hospitality and tourism, engineering and technology, arts and communication, computer science and health science.

A construction worker continues structural work within the interior courtyard of the in-progress CT High School, St. George, Utah, date unspecified | Photo courtesy of Bud Mahas Construction, St. George News

Several clusters have industry-wide standards for accreditation, like Adobe certification for graphic design or credentialing as a certified nursing assistant for health science. Others – like construction or electrical training –have certain age and technical requirements that would prevent high schoolers from receiving industry standard accreditation. 

Homer said the school will still provide as much training as possible for students in those pathways, and students will leave with a portfolio of work that will qualify them for apprenticeships or higher learning.

Additional career pathways may be added in the following years as the high school expands. Located on a large patch of land off River Road near the intersection with the Southern Parkway, the $33.5 million project will have plenty of space for a second phase, Dunham said.

Student life at CT High

At the same meeting where the official name was approved, board members discussed appropriate nicknames – preferring names like career and tech high school, CT High or CTHS. School colors of navy and Carolina blue were also selected, and the school mascot will be the “Titans.”

While the exact shades of color are yet to be determined, the WCSD Board of Education voted unanimously to select Carolina blue and navy blue (L-R) as the school colors for CT High School | Image by Ammon Teare, St. George News

With an estimated capacity of 800 students, CTHS will admit learners via application and draw from every cone site in the district. The application process is still being finalized, but the district remains committed to nondiscrimination and providing opportunities for all students, Homer said.

“It’s not going to be about grades – all of that will be included – but we just want to say, ‘Who’s the best fit?’” he said. “I know that’s pretty vague, but at some point around the start of next school year, we’ll have that process hammered out and be ready to talk about it in a more detailed way. We’re just building as we go.”

Given the school’s remote location, the district will bus students from their boundary schools (Snow Canyon, Pine View, Hurricane, etc.) to CT High.

“The second thing is that if they want to perform in the band, in a school play or in one of the athletic programs they will have to go back home to their boundary school to do that,” Dunham said. “We won’t exclude them, but we will not have those programs at CT High.”

CTHS may not have its own sports teams or performing arts programs, but the Titans will have plenty of opportunities to compete in robotics, Future Business Leaders of America and Family, Career and Community Leaders of America competitions, among other things.

An artist’s rendering of the completed east side of CT High School as seen from River Road, St. George, Utah | Image courtesy of Naylor Wentworth Lund Architects, St. George News

To accommodate participation in extracurriculars, CT High will have a slightly earlier start and end time each day so students can travel to and from their boundary schools if needed, Homer said.

Another quirk about the new school’s student body will be its composition: the career and technical high school will enroll students in grades 9-12, breaking the mold of typical area high schools that only admit sophomores and above.

While there’s a great deal of work still to be done at the construction site and on the administrative end, school officials remain excited about the prospect of recruiting students and planning curriculum over the next year and a half.

Referencing the model high school outside of Texas, Dunham explained why he’s excited to see career and technical education blossom in Washington County. 

“The high school that mirrors what we’re trying to accomplish here has the highest graduation rate and the best test scores of any schools in their district,” he said. “It’s because those kids see how their education will impact what they want to do in their lives. The most important factor is drive – it’s doing something that they really believe in and want to do.”

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