Stacer Group

09/09/2026

Free to access 3C validator through Stacer Group.

Exploring CTE opportunities for your students shouldn’t need you to spend hours crosschecking and validating the TEA course catalog manually.

Our 3C validator allows you to validate course and certification selections for each program of study across Texas school districts against Code 5, 6, 7 and CCMR requirements in minutes not hours.

Simply select your school region to view all available study
programmes and courses, complete with course levels, credits, and Industry-Based Certifications (IBCs). The dashboard also includes a progression checklist and live validation tracking built.

Get started: https://ctevalidator.stacergroup.com/

09/08/2026

Our September newsletter just dropped so here are the highlights.

This issue covers:

By the Numbers
312 work-based learning activities are already underway across our 4 pilot school districts, just in the first week of school.

Impact Story
Tristan Nunez grew up in a small Texas town where career advice stopped at "surgeon" or "anesthesiologist." A healthcare pathway program starting in 8th grade changed everything real mentors, real workplace exposure. Today he's aiming for a doctorate and paying it forward to the next generation.

Partner Spotlight
Meet Matt Gordon Lionheart, PhD, a U.S. Army veteran turned cybersecurity leader who's on a mission to make his field accessible to everyone, from the battlefield to the boardroom to the lightboard.

Ways to get involved
Suggest a topic for Stacer Live, become an industry partner, or just share the word.

👉 Sign up to get the full newsletter in your inbox each quarter: https://www.stacergroup.com/

09/03/2026

Advisory board attendance is a starting point not the end goal. It's not that those partners don't care; it's that advisory involvement alone isn't the same as active partnership.

They help to validate demand, telling districts what skills are needed rather than what's assumed to be needed. Shaping learning experiences directly, whether that means hosting a work-based learning activity or helping design a curriculum component. They offer real, specific feedback, even when it's not entirely positive. And stay involved for the long haul, not just through the launch phase.

That's the bar we set for every partnership we help build, and it's the reason our framework puts sustained engagement at its core.

Become an industry partner: https://www.stacergroup.com/partnerships

09/02/2026

Another week, another real moment of applied learning worth sharing.

“At IHC Suspension, students learn not only to interpret and read design suspension components but also to manufacture parts for Ford, Chevy, and Dodge trucks of different model years. During my visit, I observed the entire production process, from raw materials to finished products using CNC lathes, CNC milling machines, laser cutters, benders, pipe benders, welding equipment, painting, then packaging. Students learn to operate these machines while solving real manufacturing challenges, such as producing parts within strict tolerances.”

Robert Aberin, Rio Grande City Grulla ISD

These are the moments that make work-based learning programs meaningful, not the plans themselves, but what happens when students get to put them into practice.

09/01/2026

If you're a district leader who's been nodding along but wondering how any of this applies to your specific situation, we'd like to offer something more concrete than another post.

Here's what that could look like in practice: a focused pathway assessment, built around a specific program or decision you're currently facing. Not a generic audit. Not a sales pitch. A real look at where your program stands and what a workforce-aligned path forward could look like.

We've worked across 25 school districts and more than 200 schools, and no two conversations have looked the same, because no two districts are exactly the same.

If you're ready to move from following along to figuring out next steps, contact us. We'd be glad to talk through what fits.

Get in touch for your Industry Pipeline Assessment: https://www.stacergroup.com/contactus

09/01/2026

08/26/2026

Real learning, real time, real people.

These are the interactions that turn a career pathway from a concept into something students can actually feel and understand.

“As a veteran educator, this experience gives me concrete, first-hand examples to show students that school projects aren't just arbitrary assignments; they directly reflect industry standards.

I can now walk them through actual shop scenarios where a minor oversight, like missing a bleed or mis-checking a proof, results in real material waste and lost revenue. By sharing actual Fast-signs workflows, client expectations, and deadline pressures, I can demystify what daily life looks like in a commercial shop. This grounds my instruction in reality, helping students realize that mastering technical accuracy, speed, and clear communication is what truly makes them hireable on day one.”

Manuel Lopez, Graphic Design & Media Teacher / CTE Department Head

This is the kind of activity that builds a talent pipeline one interaction at a time, and it's happening in classrooms and workplaces across our partner districts every week.

06/25/2026

Congratulations to Bipil Krishna, our standout intern, on being accepted to UT Dallas and completing his first campus visit.

This is a major milestone and a powerful reminder of what students are working toward. Seeing the campus for the first time turns an acceptance letter into something real: a place, a goal, and a next step.

We are proud to celebrate Bipil and excited for what is ahead.

06/18/2026

If a student completes the checklist but graduates with no network, did we serve them well?

Career readiness cannot stop at task completion.

Networking is one of the leading paths to employment, yet many students leave school with little to no professional momentum.

That should challenge us.

Effective career-connected learning must ensure students are directly connected to industry before graduation.

At Stacer Group, we know the work is not just preparing students to understand opportunity.

It is connecting them directly to it.

06/17/2026

Thank you to Cardenas BMW for hosting Luis Vasquez from Lyford Consolidated Independent School District for an incredible teacher externship experience.

A special thank you to Eliel Hinojosa and the Cardenas BMW team for taking the time to support this experience and share real workplace insight with an educator who is helping prepare students for their futures.

Externships like this help connect classroom instruction to industry expectations, career pathways, and the skills students need beyond graduation. Strong work-based learning happens when committed educators and industry partners work together, and this was a great example of that partnership in action.