When Evanston Township High School sophomore Eliana Napolez-Savig registered for Geometry in Construction — a course where students build a house for low-income families — she didn’t expect to walk away knowing how to swing a hammer and with a new understanding of teamwork. 

“I was learning how to build a house while also learning how to do math, which was a really interesting way to look at geometry,” Napolez-Savig said. 

She said the hands-on focus of the class not only gave her more than practical skills, but forced the students to work like coworkers, as a team. 

The class is part of District 202’s Career and Technical Education curriculum. ETHS offers nearly 50 CTE courses across five career cluster categories: Business Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Health Sciences, Industrial Technology and Information Technology/Computer Science.

In 2024, 56.2% of ETHS students took at least one CTE course. The same year, CTE participation throughout the state was at 48.3%, according to the Illinois Education and Career Success Network.

Since 2022, ETHS has consistently had higher CTE enrollment than the state average. 

Nick Gehl, ETHS arts and innovation department chair, said the school makes an effort to expose students to career opportunities outside of the classroom through a collaboration with The Trade Collective, summer internships coordinated by the Department of Early College and Career Experiences and other work-based learning opportunities.

“We’ve tried to create opportunities where we’re attaching CTE to another experience, helping students see this real life application and also making it authentic and meaningful,” Gehl said. “It has helped continue to maintain high enrollment and high interest from students.”

Beginning next year, a state law will go into effect that requires the Illinois State Board of Education to provide a public list for organizations to submit opportunities for high school students to participate in work related to technical education careers. ISBE is then required to send the list to school districts each year.

Gehl said he sees the law as a catalyst for exposing ETHS students to opportunities outside of what they know from their families. 

Though Napolez-Savig said she doesn’t want to pursue a career in construction, she wouldn’t have taken Geometry in Construction had she not heard about it from her uncle who taught the same course in Colorado.

“We continue to see students typically consider careers that they’ve had exposure to largely based on their families and neighbors,” Gehl said. 

Students who focus on a specific CTE program and take two or more courses in the cluster are considered CTE concentrators. In 2024, 25.1% of ETHS students were CTE concentrators, about 1.5% higher than the state average. 

ETHS senior Chesney Brown said that taking Introduction to Child Development at ETHS, working as a camp counselor each summer and shadowing at a local physical therapy clinic helped her realize she wants to become a pediatric physical therapist. 

“Exposure is something that can definitely help you get an idea of what you want to do as a future career,” Brown said. “As a senior now doing college applications, I’m certain on what I want to do. Freshman year, I had no clue.”

Though she found those opportunities on her own, she said a list where opportunities beyond the classroom are concentrated in a single place would help other students find what they’re passionate about. 

Gehl emphasized that the goal of CTE — which he hopes will expand with the new law — is to build skills that are relevant for every student, no matter their chosen career path. 

“We want to be a space where students find value regardless of what they decide to pursue in the future,” Gehl said. “What that looks like is staying mindful of experiences, skills and habits of mind that can benefit students’ growth and development, regardless of their future post secondary plans.”

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