Households in San Antonio’s largest college districts need profession and technical education schemes, in accordance with pupil utility numbers for the upcoming 2026-27 college 12 months.
A assessment of the variety of functions for magnets and different “selection” colleges in San Antonio Impartial College District, North East ISD and Northside ISD present choice for trade-based and early faculty applications, particularly these with a give attention to the medical discipline, science, know-how, engineering and math or STEM.
“There’s a humongous shift again towards careers, again towards trades, again towards how we will speed up the pipeline of scholars entering into completely different careers,” stated Phil Steinert, senior director of profession technical education schemes at NEISD. All however two of NEISD’s 13 magnet applications fall below his purview.
SAISD, NISD and NEISD, typically known as “the massive three,” educate greater than half of town’s 350,000 college students. Structured otherwise, all three have huge selection applications attracting college students from inside and outdoors their very own boundaries.
Utility numbers present that whilst general public college enrollment has dropped, demand for versatile college choices that provide greater than a conventional training has remained regular or seems to be growing amongst San Antonio households.
The place are the youngsters flocking to?
San Antonio ISD
Superior Studying Academy is a Ok-12 program that gives faculty prep programs, makes use of project-based studying, social-emotional studying, and focuses on particular person creativity.
Burbank Excessive College makes use of worldwide baccalaureate curriculum and gives pathways in agriculture science, prison justice and culinary arts.
Twain Twin Language Academy is a pre Ok-8 campus bilingual program that gives pupil journey, gifted-and-talented providers and highschool credit score.
Northside ISD
Well being Careers Excessive College gives completely different medical tracks and certifications like pharmacology or scientific analysis.
Marshall Regulation and Medical Providers Excessive College houses three applications: medical providers, regulation and prison justice and authorized governance and public administration.
Jordan Center College multimedia and design magnet gives programs in animation, graphic design, A/V manufacturing and business images.
North East ISD
Medical Professions Academy gives certification pathways for EMT, licensed nurse support, medical assistant, pharmacy technician and dental assistant.
House and Engineering Know-how Academy is a 6-12 program with 4 engineering pathways together with aerospace and aviation know-how.
DATA P-TECH Early School Excessive College is a 6-12 program with pathways in multimedia arts, digital communications, architectural design and artwork.
Observe: These are the highest three applications at every college district primarily based on preliminary utility numbers for the 2026-27 college 12 months. NEISD numbers present functions the place a program is listed as the scholar’s first-choice.
Center college magnets develop
As households seek for career-focused college fashions earlier in a pupil’s journey, college districts are responding by increasing applications on the center college degree.
At NEISD, Steinert stated 3,000 extra center college college students enrolled in CTE applications throughout the 2025-26 college 12 months in comparison with the earlier cycle, whilst districtwide enrollment dropped by about 1,000.
STEM-focused center college magnets have the best waitlists at NEISD.
This development influenced NEISD officers into changing well-liked center college magnets DATA Center College, STEM Center College and the House and Engineering Applied sciences Academy, into what’s known as P-TECHs or early faculty excessive colleges with know-how pathways and certifications.
Of these, SETA is the preferred, receiving round 450 functions for the upcoming college 12 months.
NISD can also be investing extra in center college innovation.
Final 12 months, the district launched a multimedia and design magnet at Jordan Center College, shortly getting extra functions than every other NISD center college magnet.
As of early June, Jordan has greater than 340 magnet functions, which can also be greater than a number of of the district’s highschool magnets.
Ruel-Schaefer stated San Antonio is not any “multimedia mecca,” however most employers have a necessity for media and design professionals, so the earlier college students get uncovered to area of interest careers, the higher.
In that spirit, NISD launched a sports activities medication magnet at Stinson Center College for the upcoming 2026-27 cycle that already has about 140 college students.
Demand grows for credentials, faculty credit score
At the highschool degree, medical magnets are often the preferred.
NEISD’s Medical Professionals Academy is commonly listed as a pupil’s first selection on magnet functions, already receiving over 640 first-choice functions for the upcoming college 12 months. This system gives certification pathways for EMTs, licensed nurse aids, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians and dental assistants.
It’s one in all three CTE-focused academies housed on the district’s Profession and Technical Training Heart, which features a Transportation Know-how Academy and a Building Know-how Academy.
College students in these academies break up their days between a house campus and the middle, which makes operating the applications extra environment friendly for NEISD and offers college students the choice to expertise a extra conventional model of college, Steinert stated.
NISD’s hottest highschool magnet has been rising in reputation much more lately. Well being Careers Excessive College acquired over 500 functions for the upcoming college 12 months, in comparison with 440 final 12 months and 425 earlier than that.
HCHS college students take ideas of well being science together with core lessons, later specializing in completely different medical tracks like pharmacology or scientific analysis.
Curiosity in health-related careers amongst younger college students matches {industry} demand, stated Ruel-Schaefer.
“I can’t have a look at a workforce labor market report with out seeing [healthcare] within the high 10 to 25 of in-demand careers,” she stated. “So the truth that our college students are very eager about pursuing healthcare is thrilling, as a result of we’ll have the ability to actually work with our companions to create a pipeline.”
Whereas SAISD has a number of well being magnets throughout its excessive colleges, the preferred program by utility numbers is persistently Superior Studying Academy, a Ok-12 program that makes use of project-based studying, social-emotional studying, and focuses on particular person creativity.
A persistently A-rated campus by the state, ALA will get round 1,000 functions each college 12 months.
SAISD’s twin language academies and different complete excessive colleges are additionally well-liked, providing faculty credit score and industry-based credentials in fields like welding, cosmetology, agricultural science and building. They often get between 300-500 functions yearly.
The place are magnet college students coming from?
Whereas magnet applications are open-enrollment, few college students truly come from outdoors of the district.
College districts have a tendency to advertise magnets inside their very own communities, typically counting on phrase of mouth and recruiting from their very own elementary and center colleges.
At NEISD, most magnet candidates are already enrolled within the district, stated Steinert, and newcomers are usually homeschoolers or constitution schoolers.
“It’s largely a return again residence,” he stated.
In hopes of boosting enrollment, NEISD not too long ago dropped the boundary on all campuses, magnet or not, to college students outdoors of the district.
NISD did the identical factor final 12 months, getting 853 functions for the inaugural 2025-26 12 months and 406 for the upcoming cycle as of early June.
SAISD is conversant in the open-enrollment recreation. The district dropped its boundaries greater than a decade in the past, making it a pacesetter in class selection.
Final 12 months, about 7,000 of SAISD’s 44,000 college students got here from outdoors the district. Along with having magnets and longtime open boundaries, SAISD has a number of in-district charters and leads the state in 1882 partnerships, which grant outdoors teams management of a district college to implement their very own training mannequin.
Elevated competitors
The 2025-26 college 12 months marked the primary non-pandemic enrollment drop in a long time. A report from the coverage analysis group Texas 2036 discovered that roughly 76,000 fewer college students enrolled in public college statewide.
San Antonio’s many college districts have been no exception — most have seen enrollment decline within the 1000’s, faulting a mix of elevated immigration enforcement below the Trump Administration, decrease start charges and the enlargement of constitution colleges.
Most districts are additionally in price range deficits, since public college funding and enrollment are tied in Texas.
And so they’re bracing for extra hits this 12 months as households use the state’s new training financial savings accounts program to pay for personal college tuition, influencing the push for districts so as to add and develop modern applications as they compete for a shrinking pool of scholars.
Demand for profession credentials and faculty credit score isn’t only a development amongst households, the state is paying extra consideration too.
State officers are within the means of implementing extra guardrails round CTE applications, rating how useful certifications are in job market, program completion charges, and investing extra in CTE fashions.
Completion of CTE applications and earned credentials can even increase highschool’s A-F state ranking, whereas elementary and center colleges rely nearly solely on STAAR scores.
For Ruel-Shaefer at NISD, the altering developments aren’t restricted to CTE applications. She thinks households are beginning to pay extra consideration to the choices.
“The change is going on in training throughout the board,” she stated. “One of many greatest modifications has been in communication and ensuring that oldsters have the best perspective of what training appears to be like like now and what all of the alternatives are for his or her college students.”
