HOUSTON, TX — Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) has opened the new Harold D. Guthrie Center for Excellence, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) campus designed to equip students with the skills, credentials, and experiences needed for success after high school.
Built through the voter-approved SBISD 2022 Bond Program, the two-story, 219,000-square-foot facility replaces the former 70,100-square-foot building and can serve up to 2,200 students.
“For more than 50 years, career and technical education in SBISD has been rooted at this location,” said Jennifer Blaine, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools. “Generations of students have come here to explore interests, discover talents, and begin imagining what their futures could look like. The new Guthrie Center takes that legacy to an entirely new level, giving students the opportunity to develop their strengths and gain skills that can open doors to the future.”
The program began in 1972 as the Spring Branch Career Center and was renamed the Harold D. Guthrie Center for Excellence in 2003. Today, the new facility serves as the central hub for 14 specialized CTE programs of study, expanding opportunities for students from across the district to learn through hands-on experiences in environments designed to reflect the industries they may enter after graduation.
Across the 16.8-acre campus, 35 classrooms, and 31 specialty labs, students have access to professional-grade equipment and specialized learning spaces, including automotive service bays, welding and electrical training areas, construction spaces large enough for students to build small homes, a full salon for cosmetology and barbering, medical and dental equipment, a film and broadcast studio, and an onsite bistro with multiple commercial kitchen spaces.
| Your local Broce Broom dealer |
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| Nueces Power Equipment |
“The Guthrie Center is designed so students can move beyond learning about a career to experiencing what it is actually like to work in that field,” said Christina Rice-Imumwen, Director of Career and Technical Education for SBISD. “When students step into a dental suite, commercial kitchen, or welding booth that reflects the world they may enter after graduation, the learning becomes tangible. They can see themselves in that future.”
The new campus creates opportunities for students to apply their skills with real customers. Beginning next spring, barbering and cosmetology students will welcome clients for salon services, while culinary arts and hospitality students will prepare and serve meals through the student-operated bistro. Select automotive services are expected to begin in the 2027-2028 school year. These experiences will allow students to practice the professional skills that accompany technical expertise — including communicating with customers, managing time and resources, solving problems, and delivering quality work on deadline.
The campus also builds on SBISD’s long-standing partnerships with business and industry, connecting students with career professionals and experiences that help them understand the opportunities available beyond high school.
“The Guthrie Center embodies our commitment to inspire minds and shape lives,” Blaine said. “It reflects what can happen when a community invests in its students and believes in their potential. We are proud to give our students a place where they can discover what they are capable of and begin building the future they envision for themselves.”
| Your local Bobcat dealer |
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| Compact Construction Equipment, Inc |
| Bobcat of North Texas |
The architect for the project was PBK Architects, and the contractor was Durotech.
