Creating a hands-on learning environment that enables students to graduate and immediately enter the local petrochemical industry

Chevron Phillips CTE Center

We partnered with Sweeny Independent School District on their 2019 bond program to provide strategic messaging, community consensus, ethics training, bond campaign support and architectural and engineering services. The successful $28 million bond campaign was centered around safety, health, and wellness, but further focused on empowering students for tomorrow’s opportunities.

Our team worked closely to prioritize the needs of the district and define the renovation scope that would transform the career and technical education (CTE) program at Sweeny High School while also providing much needed maintenance, accessibility, and security upgrades at Sweeny Junior High and Sweeny Elementary. At the high school, an analysis was done of the current spaces and programs to capitalize on the success of existing programs, while planning for future programs and growth. It was decided to reorganize and centralize all CTE programs into one building. The new CTE center maintains its connection to the high school campus while having a new community entrance and presence. Located in a petrochemical region, the CTE project was driven by the districts vision to teach employability skills and create a talent pool for the community’s next generation workforce.

To meet current industry criteria, Chevron Phillips was brought in as a business partner, donating nearly $2 million to enhance the CTE program. With a newfound sense of identity and pride, the revitalized 50-year-old building now provides a variety of instructional spaces and opportunities for students to explore career paths and graduate with certificates in hand to enter the petrochemical workforce straight out of high school.