Houston ISD opened a student-run auto shop on Friday at the Barbara Jordan Career Center in northeast Houston. Residents of the Greater Fifth Ward can have their vehicles serviced there. High school students train as mechanics and work with customers under instructors' supervision.
Principal Alexis Brown said the district began working on the shop in the summer, after partners in the automotive program said students needed both soft skills and technical knowledge. Brown said the goal is for students to gain skills that help them become employable, not only certifications. The center serves 1,200 students from 11 campuses.
The shop is part of a broader effort to expand career and technical education across the district. Officials cited a local education group's finding that less than 20% of HISD students earn a living wage six years after graduation. HISD has enrolled 464 freshmen this fall, up more than 200% from last fall, according to the district. The district aims to grow the career hub from about 900 students to 4,000 by the 2028-29 school year. It is spending $20 million of a $120 million short-term loan to upgrade the Barbara Jordan center and $182 million to build a second career hub in Sunnyside, expected to be complete in 2028, according to Gillian Quinn, the district's deputy chief of college, career and military readiness. Sunnyside residents welcomed the new hub but were surprised when HISD ended a 30-year lease with the City of Houston for a neighborhood park to build it.