Boerne ISD’s Career and Technical Education program (CTE) is rapidly expanding, supported by a 2022 bond that funds new facilities at both high schools. The district now offers 19 programs of study across 12 career clusters, including JROTC, and recently launched the “Straight to Trades Ownership” initiative to build students’ entrepreneurial and leadership skills alongside technical training. More than 600 students participate in local practicums, supported by strong partnerships with area businesses that provide work-based learning, mentorship and internships.

The program’s mission is to equip students with the skills needed to live and work in the local community, aligning training with regional high-skill, high-wage workforce needs. With an estimated 60% of Texas jobs by 2030 not requiring a bachelor’s degree, the district focuses on industry-recognized certifications and technical skills that prepare students for immediate career success.

Of the district’s programs, two stand out in popularity and opportunities for growth: The Culinary Arts program, part of the Hospitality and Tourism career cluster, and Welding, part of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career cluster.

Culinary Arts

The Boerne ISD Culinary Arts program, now in its 11th year, has seen significant growth, including a thriving practicum program. Located at the Boerne High campus, Champion students are shuttled for class. The program currently serves about 450 students across four course levels and partners with 20 local restaurants, including Cordillera Ranch, to provide real-world industry experience. “We were super excited to add The Clubs of Cordillera Ranch to provide students another view of the culinary arts industry. Working with Chef Isaac and the team has been fantastic for our students,” said Culinary Arts teacher, Amy Hogan.

Sophomore students earn a Food Handler Certification, which is the level of certification that everyone who works with food in a restaurant needs to have, and more than 90% of practicum students go on to obtain the more advanced Food Protection Manager Certification. “This certification is certainly harder and covers more content — focusing on proving that the carrier of the certificate is responsible for managing the food safety of the facility to prevent foodborne illness. So, the fact that over 90% of our practicum students have obtained this level of certification could be of great value to the restaurants they work in!” explained Hogan.

In the classroom kitchen, creativity is taught alongside fundamental cooking skills. Hogan emphasized, “There will always be ART in Culinary Arts — but precision, proper measurement and organization truly matter. At our lower levels, students are learning basic knife skills, safety/sanitation, service skills, mixing methods and cooking techniques. Then, our students have opportunities to create! Students love “Free Cook Fridays” where they use leftover ingredients or participate in “Chopped”-like challenges using the cooking techniques they have been working on.”

This year, 29 students will complete the pathway, with several pursuing culinary school and others entering the hospitality industry.

For senior students Jillian Balderas and Ashley Rhodes who had the opportunity to work with Chef Isaac last semester, they both expressed apprehension upon entering a professional kitchen but left feeling confident and prepared under his guidance. Jillian requested to come back and complete her second semester at Cordillera. She also applied for a nighttime cook position and has recently been hired to the team. “Currently we have taken on two new students in the kitchen and have hired a student that works as a runner in the Front of House. Their names are Evan Sheerin, Ayden Casares and Ryan Castro,” said Executive Chef Isaac Cantu. 

Abigail Retzloff, a 2024 graduate of Boerne High, has worked at the Club for two years now, and credits Chef Isaac for initiating the practicum program at the Club. She shared, “Chef Issac has been the rock in my corner since day one. Not only has he shown me that food isn’t just something to consume, but a work of art. Every dish I put on the menu was only possible with his critiques and support. He’s taught me everything I know about plating and taste profiles, and has also taught me valuable life lessons in professional matters and communication.”

“I really do enjoy working with the high school and the students. We rotate them through all the different areas of the kitchen here at Cordillera. They work on kitchen family production, banquet production, line cook positions and pastry. By having to work in all of these areas, we hope to give them the experience of a full-scale operation. There is no task that means less than the other. We also have them time themselves on each assigned task so that they can work on improving time and accuracy when doing the same task again. The main goal from me to them is to give them a true young chef experience. There are many different types of culinary operations in the industry. I want them to leave Cordillera with the experience of working in a high-volume, multi-outlet kitchen — a kitchen that is quality driven, and most importantly, a kitchen that is driven by passion to give our members a memorable dining experience,” said Chef Isaac.

Agricultural Mechanics & Welding

In the district’s welding program, students gain technical welding skills right alongside meaningful life lessons as well. And while instructor Dorman Vick is widely recognized for the program he built, he consistently emphasizes that “it’s all about the kids.”

After graduating with a degree in Animal Science, Vick realized that agriculture didn’t pay well in the ‘90s so he fell back on the trades he had always done, like a welding business he had in high school. Then one day at a cowboy church roping contest in Pearsall, Texas, where he had to go to church to get his entry fees paid for, a man got up in the front and began speaking. He conveyed clearly how agriculture mixed with education could change people’s lives and Vick said it had him on the edge of his seat because, for him, it was the best of worlds. At the end of his talk, he said, “You might know one of my boys. It’s George Strait. My name is John Byron Strait.” Vick noted, “If we would have had that on recording, we wouldn’t have a national shortage of teachers because he painted such an incredible picture of going into education. He changed my life.” 

Vick started teaching at Clark High School in San Antonio with an all-ESL welding class. The following year he built the welding program in Boerne, and 21 years have passed. Early on, Retired Lieutenant General Leroy Sisco, founder of the Military Warriors Support Foundation, became instrumental in connecting Vick with supporters like Governor Rick Perry, Commissioner of Education Mike Morath, Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller — who has filmed the welding program for his national TV show, “Texas Our Texas,” Peter Holt, Jesse James of West Coast Choppers, Bill Goldberg, George Strait and many other celebrities and dignitaries who have wrapped their arms around the program. General Sisco also founded the Welding Student Support Foundation to solely support vocational education. The welding program’s current dipping vat project is 100% backed by the foundation.

In the beginning, the program was driven to go to show, winning 21 state titles in Ag Mechanics. And the recognition did its part to put their name out there.

In 2007/08, Dr. Matt Pound with the USDA APHIS Cattle Fever Tick Eradication program reached out. This was the birth of the first federal project that any high school had ever built — a mobile deer capture trailer to capture free-ranging deer outside the quarantine zone. In 2009/10, Vick met Ed Bowers with the USDA in Laredo, Texas. Mr. Bowers brought Vick and a handful of students down to take measurements and pictures of an old scabies mobile dipping vat from the ‘60s. The BISD welding program was contracted to build one; another company was contracted for five. It was a 22-gallon, 40-foot-long, 8-foot-wide and 13-foot-tall 18-wheeler trailer. In 2010/11, the welding program built a mobile scratch and spray unit for cattle, like a carwash for cows.

However, Vick said 2016 changed the program forever when Donald Burton, a former U.S. Army Special Forces veteran and quadriplegic requested a mobile hunting blind on his trailer. All materials were donated and half the town showed up to see it, including a surprise, and tearful, visit from the Command Seargent who saved Burton’s life. Vick shared, “My kids got to witness that. It was a life-changing moment for me, the program, the kids. It woke me up. We are changing lives. And Burton continues to come around and mentor students.” A mobile blind was built for another veteran in 2019.

Then, 14 years since the program’s last government project, Vick received a message that he originally took as a buddy’s prank. It said that the State of Texas had their original dipping vat on loan from the federal government and it was the last one standing. “So now we are building the Texas Animal Health Commission their own mobile dipping vat,” said Vick. “There is no bigger footprint of a project built by kids, no biosecurity threat project that’s defending our country built by kids, than this dipping vat. We are the national standard in vocational education… and we need to get the world here to see what these incredible kids are doing. It’s important that we don’t lose the values that made us a destination district.” 

In between, there have been countless service-oriented community projects, commissioned furniture and BBQ trailers, and even a statue dedicated to the victims of the Sutherland Springs church shooting.

 With nearly 120 kids enrolled in the nationally recognized three-year program, an Intro to Ag class is required as a freshman before entering welding as a sophomore. This year, the senior practicum class of 22 students participated in the CTE’s Straight to Trades Ownership program — similar to the district’s Business Incubator & Entrepreneurship program — that connects technical trade skills with leadership development, an opportunity that wasn’t available to CTE students before because of pathway requirements. Through the program, students learn how to launch, run and expand a business. At the recent presentation, three local businessmen served as judges, with two prizes totaling $1400 and $600. But when two teams tied, Vick said the judges reached into their own pockets for $1400 to award two grand champions and one reserve. “Kids using their hands are empowered. They stand stronger. They are more confident. They know more direction of what they want to go do,” he added.

Currently, kids can test for a Holt Cat certification, which is an entry-level welding test that makes them employable immediately after graduation. “We are still growing the partnership and I’m working on adding two more companies to the line-up. The vision is that these kids need to be ready to leave, knowing where they are going,” said Vick. Senior Brady Carr plans on going into the trades after graduation and he said he couldn’t be more prepared: “Welding at Champion High has been such an amazing program to experience. It’s taught me so much about working hard and has given me many lessons about life. Vick is truly an amazing instructor, and every student who has the opportunity to join should absolutely do it!”

With the widening skills gap, the trades are experiencing their strongest demands yet. “We’ve got problems and we don’t have people to solve and build. In this program, we are addressing global problems and coming up with solutions with kids. What happens if we can’t defend America and support our military products, if we can’t build products and support agriculture, and if we don’t have manufacturing to build the infrastructure?” asked Vick.