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Like , Brooke Davis spent much of her college years preparing for a career she later realized wasn鈥檛 for her. She eventually switched her major from marine biology to engineering, but she didn鈥檛 want her daughter to make the same mistake.

That鈥檚 why she鈥檚 grateful that her 11th grader Kai can explore a career field at her high school in the Tomball Independent School District, outside Houston. Kai is in the legal studies program, which meets daily at the Tomball Innovation Center, a 70-acre facility that houses programs like aviation maintenance, cybersecurity and app design.

鈥淔or her to just get her feet wet and see if it’s something that she might want to do for the rest of her life is awesome,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淵ou don’t want to go into something in college and then all of a sudden not understand what it is you’re getting into.鈥�

Programs like Tomball鈥檚 are helping to keep some families in public schools at a time of rapidly expanding private school options, according to from Tyton Partners, a consulting firm that focuses on the education sector. Enrollment in the district has climbed from 10,000 to nearly 24,000 students over the past decade, even as many others in the Houston metro area have . The report attributes such increases to career-connected high schools that not only reflect student interests, but that are popular with both kids and parents. 

鈥淓veryone’s looking to create fun, interesting new programs. In fact, there are probably too many of them,鈥� said Adam Newman, Tyton founder and managing partner. Instead, districts should focus on making sure a 鈥渃ritical mass鈥� of students participate in high school redesign initiatives for those programs to 鈥渞emain compelling for parents鈥� and attract growth, he said.

A survey of 250 high school administrators showed that more than half of districts and charters with high participation in redesigned programs saw enrollment growth between 2022 and 2025. Those with minimal participation continued to see enrollment decline.

But that hasn鈥檛 been the problem in Tomball. The demand to enroll in classes at the facility, a for an oilfield services company, is so great, the district holds a lottery to admit students. With an actual courtroom on site, Kai, who attended a classical Christian school for K-5, has been able to observe traffic court. She鈥檚 learning how to prepare oral arguments and properly cite case law. 

鈥淭hey teach you about how to think like a lawyer,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel like I’ll definitely have a leg up once I get to college.鈥�

Other students can earn a pilot鈥檚 license when they graduate or leave with an industry certification in fields like animal science or graphic design. Those in the , an early college model, will complete an associates degree along with a high school diploma. 

With HCA Healthcare nearby and building a branch of its pharmaceutical business in Houston, Tiffani Wooten, assistant director of the Tomball Economic Development Corp., said P-TECH helps 鈥渇ast track鈥� kids into in-demand careers. 

Health care is a 鈥渉uge growing industry that we鈥檙e going to have to continue to filter kids in,鈥� she said. She describes her role as a 鈥渃onnector鈥� who works with the district to 鈥渂ring the industry to the table.鈥�

Christian Lehr, managing director at Tyton, said the district views 鈥渃areer-connected pathways as a core enrollment and value proposition strategy,鈥� instead of as an add-on.

鈥楨nrollment pressure鈥�

The report is a departure for Tyton, which has focused most of its analyses in recent years on efforts to disrupt the public education system. In 2022, it released survey data showing a one-year, 9% drop in families saying their children were enrolled in a traditional district school. Charters, private schools and homeschooling saw increases over that same time period.

In a deeper look at school choice, Tyton researchers reported in 2024 that improving their children鈥檚 mental health was the main reason why parents considered leaving the traditional system for alternatives like online programs and private schools.

This year, the team 鈥渢urned the lens back to the public system because many of them are grappling with enrollment pressure,鈥� Lehr said. With AI changing the workplace, they鈥檙e also thinking about the 鈥渟hift from a college-for-all, No Child Left Behind mentality.鈥� 

There are plenty of reasons to rethink education for teens, said Celina Pierrottet, who leads a high school transformation project with the National Association of State Boards of Education. 

In a from Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation, less than half of students said their schoolwork was challenging in a positive way or matched what they do best. Forty-six percent of 12- to 27-year-olds, including those in K-12, said they weren鈥檛 having any engaging experiences at school. Chronic absenteeism also remains higher than it was before the pandemic.

鈥淭here are a lot of warning signs flashing that high schools need to change,鈥� Pierrottet said. 

鈥楢 long journey鈥�

The Tyton project, funded by the Walton Family Foundation, also includes brief case studies of districts and charter networks to identify some common redesign elements, like getting input from students on what they want and relying on outside groups, including employers and nonprofits, to execute the programs. 

The pattern revealed itself in Arizona, where over 100,000 students participate in the state鈥檚 universal private school choice program. Enrollment in the , outside Tucson, has increased 4.3% since 2022. While new housing development in the area has contributed to growth, enrollment increases have outpaced that of the high school-aged population. 

The Tyton report also features the Anaheim Union High School District in California, which used to remake secondary schools and re-engage students. District leaders took the focus off testing and designed courses like biotech chemistry that link academic content with job skills.  

One school launched a community gardening project that鈥檚 used for instruction across the curriculum. But getting the community to notice can be 鈥渁 long journey,鈥� Lehr said. The Anaheim district has been at its redesign work for a decade. 

In a state where public school enrollment is expected to through the end of the decade, the Anaheim district has seen a slight decline since 2022.

鈥淭he key question is whether execution holds,鈥� Lehr said. 鈥淚f it does, we鈥檇 expect stabilization and ultimately growth over the next five years.鈥�

Disclosure: Walton Family Foundation provides financial support to 麻豆精品.

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