Texas’ Forney ISD has crossed a new CTE frontier and its scope may come as a big surprise.
The rapidly growing district, located about a half an hour from Dallas, opened its Opportunity Central campus in early 2024. The “OC,” as it’s called, is a shopping mall open to the public and operates seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Student- and community-run retail shops include a hair salon, a florist, clothing stores, eateries, a mechanic and a day-care center, among other businesses. Students learn everything from managing inventory to arranging storefronts to accounting.
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The comprehensive CTE hub also features a 7,900-seat arena, an esports lab and high school classrooms, among other facilities, Superintendent Justin Terry said during a visit to the DA Newsroom at FETC in January. It has several spaces where community groups can host events.
Terry describes the OC as a career, college and community center all at once. “What makes this facility and the approach different than anything in the nation right now is this community aspect,” Terry said.
“The first floor is basically a mall. We have students in district-run businesses that are operated by students. We have businesses that rent space from us,” he continued. “We also have sponsored spaces and things where the community can just come and integrate in.”
Terry and his team have hosted groups from other districts eager to tour Opportunity Central and potentially build a similar campus in their communities.
“It’s a pretty unique place,” Terry concluded. “Anything you can think of, when it comes to how to run and operate a business, students are going to get that experience—and there’s a pathway connected to it.”
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