Challenge: Providing Opportunities in a Small, Underserved District

Nestled in just 7.5 square miles of Stafford, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) might be small, but its ambitions for student success are anything but. With a majority-minority student population and many families facing economic challenges, the district needed to ensure that students weren't just graduating—but graduating prepared.

“Our overarching goal is that every student will graduate college and career ready,” explained Ms. Deborah Nordt, director of Stafford Early College and Career High School. “That’s what drives every decision we make.”

The Stafford Early College and Career High School (SECCHS), a school-within-a-school serving roughly 450 of the high school’s 1,063 students, was built with this mission in mind. Since 2011, the program has grown in both scale and impact. As of 2025, it includes 2 associate degree options and 12 career pathways, 7 of which are aligned with level I workforce certifications. Yet with this growth, came the challenge of supporting teachers—many of whom come directly from industry—with a consistent, rigorous curriculum that could scale across programs and support a wide range of learners.

Solution: Empowering Educators and Students with Quality Curricula

To build a future-ready learning environment, SMSD needed more than just vision—it needed the right tools. That’s where Edmentum came in, specifically the grades 6–12 Edmentum Career digital curricula, which span career assessment, 57 multiyear course pathways, and certification prep.

“About eight years ago, we started looking for a program that would prepare students for how they’ll take college classes—online, with digital tools,” recalled Ms. Nordt. “We landed on Edmentum because it had all the bells and whistles we needed but was also incredibly user-friendly for both teachers and students.”

For Ms. Nordt, Edmentum helped solve a challenge that many career-learning programs experience: supporting career and technical education CTE teachers who often come from nontraditional backgrounds.

“One of the things about CTE teachers is that they don't necessarily come to teaching through traditional pathways,” she noted. “They come from industry—and I want them to come from industry because they’re the ones who can give students real-world experiences. But that means they may not know how to structure a lesson.”

Edmentum Courseware gave those teachers a foundational curriculum aligned to industry certifications and real-world application, so they could focus on instruction and mentorship, not building everything from scratch. 

“When you have a brand-new teacher coming in from industry, it’s very valuable to sit them down and say, ‘This is how you can do it. It’s tried and true,’” remarked Ms. Nordt.

Beyond easing the teaching lift, Edmentum provided the consistency the program needed. “It gave us a common language, a common structure. Every course is set up the same,” emphasized Ms. Nordt. “That’s important when you're supervising so many different programs. You need a frame of reference to ensure equity.”

Edmentum also proved essential in enabling initiatives like Texas’ Teacher Incentive Allotment (TIA), which allows Texas school districts to designate and reward top-performing teachers and requires demonstrable student growth as part of eligibility. 

“CTE doesn’t use STAAR [state assessment] scores or benchmarks like other subjects,” clarified Ms. Nordt. “We needed a way to measure progress, and Edmentum let us use pre- and posttests in our ‘principles’ courses. It gave us the comparable, measurable data we needed—and it was seamless.”

Result: Preparing Students for College, Career, and Community Impact

The impact of SMSD’s approach is clear—and measurable. In 2024, 89 students graduated from high school with an associate degree—43 percent of the graduating class. Next year, that number is expected to rise to 118 students, nearly half of all graduates. 

“It’s incredible,” declared Ms. Nordt. “We had 42 students last year who were first-generation college students.”

For students in workforce programs like welding, automotive, or culinary, the results are equally powerful. 

“Every welder we graduate goes to work immediately,” stated Ms. Nordt. “They're not looking for entry-level jobs. They come ready to work—and they’re certified.”

She credited Edmentum with helping lay that strong foundation: “When students go out on practicum as juniors or seniors, they have the skills they need to be successful because of the foundation built through Edmentum. And when employers see that, they’re more likely to take the next two kids from our program.”

That credibility has created a virtuous cycle for the district and its community. 

“In a one-high-school district, our students are the stars,” observed Ms. Nordt. “They get real, visible opportunities. When the AG [agricultural] barn was damaged, our welders fixed it. When a school board member needs an oil change, they head to our automotive shop.”

And the long-term outcomes speak volumes, as she added: “We now have students going on to four-year degrees, master’s degrees, and coming back to our community,. It’s generational. Siblings are coming through the program now. We're impacting the next generation of students that haven’t even been born yet.”

Looking Ahead

As SECCHS continues to expand—adding an eighth workforce-aligned program for the 2025–26 school year—Ms. Nordt sees Edmentum as a cornerstone of continued success.

“It’s not just about meeting standards,” she concluded. “It’s about doing what’s right for kids—giving them the tools, confidence, and experience to walk into a job or a college classroom knowing they belong there.”