Bold, New Plan Aims to Make Arlington ISD Better Prepared for College, Workforce

Multiple studies show a large number of students nationwide aren't prepared for college or the workforce when they graduate from high school. It's a gap school districts in North Texas are working to close -- and one that's put Arlington ISD on a bold, new track.

The Arlington ISD school board recently approved a new five-year strategic plan that calls for 100 percent of their students to graduate "exceptionally prepared" for college, the workforce and citizenship.

There are more than 64,000 students currently enrolled in Arlington ISD schools. Superintendent Dr. Marcelo Cavazos admits the new plan is ambitious, but says it's necessary in today's world.

"We have to be intentional to provide students with the skill-sets that they will need when they graduate from high school," said Cavazos. "And those will be very different for many of our students. The world they'll face will be different than even today's world."

Cavazos says achieving that goal begins with teachers, administrators and parents -- but that a great deal of the plan focuses on giving students the tools and opportunities to pursue what they're interested in.

For example, plans are currently in the works to build a new career tech center and an agricultural science center where students will be able to learn more specific skill-sets in a variety of fields.

The district also recently launched dual language academies for elementary school students and a fire academy for high schoolers interested in that career path.

"And that makes sure that we're focused on serving our students," said Cavazos. "And that all our actions and all our work is guided towards that success of young people." Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The district says it will track that success by looking at a number of things, such as SAT / ACT scores, the number of students who receive workforce certifications, and an internal system that monitors whether individual students are on track to graduate on time. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

Contact Us