KAYSVILLE—High school is a time for kids to explore options for future careers. CTE (Career & Technical Education) in the Davis School District is a stepping stone to help make those dreams become a reality through work-based learning. 

“I’d like to start by saying CTE (Career & Technical Education) is for all,” said Brian Hunt, CTE director during a presentation at the Oct. 21 school board workshop. “It’s for every student, from every background with every future plan. I say that because oftentimes when I speak about CTE to people they might say ‘oh yeah CTE that is so good. We need those programs for the students who are not going to go to college.’”

CTE is for every student whether they are going to be an attorney, a software engineer or an architect or anyone, he said. “It’s a place for every student. In our high schools we offer between 60 and 80 CTE courses, many of them offering college credit. We offer 170 CTE courses in our high schools collectively.”

There are a lot of opportunities for students, said Hunt. “Our courses prepare students for all sorts of careers, whether it’s in business or marketing, finance, human services, education and training and healthcare. Health science is one of our most popular career clusters and pathways in our district.”

“Work-based learning is a part of CTE,” said Rachelle Ackley, CTE WBL supervisor. “Our vision is to give every student access to a high quality, meaningful work-base learning experience. The reason why this is our vision is because we’ve seen firsthand the benefits that it offers students.”

Ackley shared some examples of students who have found success in the workplace. “Kevin Martin was a graduate from Woods Cross High,” she said. “He interned for a small animal hospital. He later went on to earn his doctorate in veterinary medicine and he came back and actually bought the clinic where he initially interned at and he’s now the owner of the Bountiful Small Animal Hospital.”

Holly Rowe also graduated from Woods Cross, said Ackley. “She interned for the Davis County Clipper and she’s now a nationally renowned sportscaster. She was recently inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame.”

Some of those internships have aided students in choosing a career pathway, she said. “And in some cases, it confirmed whether or not that career path was right for them which is equally beneficial.”

Work-based learning is a key component to CTE and it connects the classroom to the real world, Ackley said. “When CTE and work-based learning is combined it’s a bridge to careers for students. It also helps play a final role in our workforce development, not only for our community but throughout the state, which in turn impacts our economic development, which provides more opportunities for members of our community.” 

Since opening in 2022, enrollment at the Davis Catalyst Center continues to grow. Currently there are 747 students attending and 393 students on a waitlist. There are 16 pathways, 12 of those in the building. Four portables have been added to manage growth. Administrators are looking for ways to expand the school’s capacity so they can offer more courses.

“When the Catalyst first opened we had 569 students applying to attend the school which was great,” said Catalyst Director, Tim Allen. “The year after that, in 2023 we had 982. And in the next two years in 2024 and 2025, we had well over 1,400 students apply. Just in the fall semester of 2025/2026 we had 1,218 students apply to take partner programs. Hence, our long waiting list.”

In education there’s a lot of talk about the why, he said. “Why do we do the things we do? I’ve been to so many conferences and trainings where we use that term – ‘what is your why?’ It’s fun to get caught up in the technology and the programs and all these are amazing things.”

When it boils down to it, though, the “why” behind it is providing experiences for Davis School District kids, said Allen. “Our mission is partnering with industry to create the next generation of professionals, but our vision – and what’s most important to me – is that we develop relationships with business and industry and our education partners to create rich and meaningful experiences for our students.”

That’s what the Catalyst is all about, he said. “It will continue to be about that for years to come.”