UAHT to take control of TASD’s secondary career education center,

The Arkansas Department of Education recently authorized the transfer of the Secondary Career and Technical Education Center currently operated by the Texarkana Ark., School District to the University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana. The college will assume operation of the CTE Center on July 1.

This planned transition is an example of the growing partnerships between UA Hope-Texarkana and TASD, which expand career opportunities for high school students from across the region on both campuses of the college.

As a part of the transfer, the college will offer career and technical classes for qualifying high school students from Texarkana, Fouke, Genoa and Ashdown school districts on the U of A Texarkana campus and at TASD facilities currently in operation. Additionally, the operational transfer will expand career education opportunities across southwest Arkansas with the opening of a new CTE center on the Hope campus this fall. This center will offer classes to qualifying high school students from the Hope, Blevins, Spring Hill, Prescott, Nevada and Lafayette County school districts.

Secondary career and technical education centers are a part of the Arkansas Department of Career Education’s mission to prepare a job-ready, career-bound workforce to meet the needs of Arkansas employers. The goal is to provide the necessary academic and technical skills for high-quality jobs, to offer Arkansans of all ages the options to pursue a wide range of career choices and to supply employers with validation of skills through certifications and licenses.

UA Hope-Texarkana will offer classes in a variety of career and technical fields, including industrial equipment maintenance, medical professions and welding technology.

“UAHT is very appreciative of the planning and effort that the Texarkana Ark., School District engaged in with our campus to make this transition a reality,” Chris Thomason, UA Hope-Texarkana chancellor stated in a press release. “It was clear from the beginning that TASD was intent on expanding opportunities for their students and all students across UAHT’s service area. The new CTE centers on both our campuses will not only expand access to top-level career and technical programs, but they will also provide an opportunity for students to earn a credential in those high demand professions as well. UAHT will also use this historic moment for our educational mission to even more closely align our career and technical programs with the business and industry needs of our region to ensure that we have the most highly-skilled workforce possible.”

For more information, contact Mikki Curtis, secondary career center director, at 870722-8133 or mikki.curtis@uacch.edu.