CAMERON, Texas (KRHD) — Cameron ISD unveiled its new Career and Technology Center Monday after spending over a year renovating its old high school building.
- The district's new Career and Technology Center used to be Old Yoe High School, a school built in the 1920s, which remained unused for the past 20 years.
- The district used part of a $15.9 million bond approved in 2022 to fund renovations, which include a mock hospital room, pharmacy, and a crime scene lab.
- The district believes the center will give students the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning and experiment with new technology to prepare them for future careers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
"Here at the Cameron Yoe High School, we prepare kids to be future educators," Education Director Jeffery Evans said.
It's a goal much easier to reach for Cameron Yoe education teacher Jeffery Evans.
"What was the classroom like that you were teaching in before?," 15ABC asked.
"It was set up like an old-school setting, and so we had 20 desks, and we sat down, and we had lots of books," Evans said.
Now, he's getting used to his new classroom in the district's new career and technology center.
"This just helps us out with new technology, new resources and just different ways we can connect and reach kids and help get ready for this next generation teachers," he said.
But the building didn't always look this way.
Assistant Superintendent Mistie Dakroub tells 15 ABC most remember it as the old high school built in the 1920s.
"When Mr. Sprinkles [superintendent] and I arrived at Cameron ISD, this building was in disrepair and was no longer being used," she said.
But the district was able to make renovations with part of a $15.9 million bond approved in 2022.
Now, the building will house education, computer science, business and accounting, criminal justice and health science pathways.
"When our students graduate from our high school and go on to whatever that next level is, we want them to have all the same opportunities that say a kid at a 5A school or a 6A school has had, and this is crucial," Dakroub said.
And Evans knows first-hand how important opportunity is in education.
"For me, I was raised by a coach who was a teacher, and he just taught me how to just never give up on a kid. You know, one thing that he's always said is, 'I don't see you for who you are. I see you for who you're gonna be,'" Evans said.
