More kids want schools specializing in trades, college and medicine. San Antonio’s largest districts deliver.

Families in San Antonio’s largest school districts want career and technical education programs, according to student application numbers for the upcoming 2026-27 school year.

A review of the number of applications for magnets and other “choice” schools in San Antonio Independent School District, North East ISD and Northside ISD show preference for trade-based and early college programs, especially those with a focus on the medical field, science, technology, engineering and math or STEM. 

“There’s a humongous shift back toward careers, back toward trades, back toward how we can accelerate the pipeline of students getting into different careers,” said Phil Steinert, senior director of career technical education programs at NEISD. All but two of NEISD’s 13 magnet programs fall under his purview.

SAISD, NISD and NEISD, sometimes referred to as “the big three,” educate more than half of the city’s 350,000 students. Structured differently, all three have vast choice programs attracting students from within and outside their own boundaries. 

Application numbers show that even as overall public school enrollment has dropped, demand for flexible school options that offer more than a traditional education has remained steady or appears to be increasing among San Antonio families.

Where are the kids flocking to?

_{^{Note: These are the top three programs at each school district based on preliminary application numbers for the 2026-27 school year. NEISD numbers show applications where a program is listed as the student’s first-choice.}}

Middle school magnets grow

As families search for career-focused school models earlier in a student’s journey, school districts are responding by expanding programs at the middle school level. 

At NEISD, Steinert said 3,000 more middle school students enrolled in CTE programs during the 2025-26 school year compared to the previous cycle, even as districtwide enrollment dropped by about 1,000.

STEM-focused middle school magnets have the highest waitlists at NEISD.

This growth influenced NEISD officials into converting popular middle school magnets DATA Middle School, STEM Middle School and the Space and Engineering Technologies Academy, into what’s called P-TECHs or early college high schools with technology pathways and certifications. 

Of those, SETA is the most popular, receiving around 450 applications for the upcoming school year. 

NISD is also investing more in middle school innovation.

Last year, the district launched a multimedia and design magnet at Jordan Middle School, quickly getting more applications than any other NISD middle school magnet. 

As of early June, Jordan has more than 340 magnet applications, which is also more than several of the district’s high school magnets. 

Ruel-Schaefer said San Antonio is no “multimedia mecca,” but most employers have a need for media and design professionals, so the sooner students get exposed to niche careers, the better.

In that spirit, NISD launched a sports medicine magnet at Stinson Middle School for the upcoming 2026-27 cycle that already has about 140 students.

Demand grows for credentials, college credit

At the high school level, medical magnets are usually the most popular. 

NEISD’s Medical Professionals Academy is often listed as a student’s first choice on magnet applications, already receiving over 640 first-choice applications for the upcoming school year. The program offers certification pathways for EMTs, certified nurse aids, medical assistants, pharmacy technicians and dental assistants. 

It’s one of three CTE-focused academies housed at the district’s Career and Technical Education Center, which includes a Transportation Technology Academy and a Construction Technology Academy.

Students in these academies split their days between a home campus and the center, which makes running the programs more efficient for NEISD and gives students the option to experience a more traditional version of school, Steinert said. 

NISD’s most popular high school magnet has been growing in popularity even more in recent years. Health Careers High School received over 500 applications for the upcoming school year, compared to 440 last year and 425 before that.  

HCHS students take principles of health science along with core classes, later focusing on different medical tracks like pharmacology or clinical research.

Interest in health-related careers among young students matches industry demand, said Ruel-Schaefer.

“I can’t look at a workforce labor market report without seeing [healthcare] in the top 10 to 25 of in-demand careers,” she said. “So the fact that our students are very interested in pursuing healthcare is exciting, because we’ll be able to really work with our partners to create a pipeline.”

While SAISD has several health magnets across its high schools, the most popular program by application numbers is consistently Advanced Learning Academy, a K-12 program that uses project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and focuses on individual creativity. 

A consistently A-rated campus by the state, ALA  gets around 1,000 applications every school year. 

SAISD’s dual language academies and other comprehensive high schools are also well-liked, offering college credit and industry-based credentials in fields like welding, cosmetology, agricultural science and construction. They usually get between 300-500 applications every year. 

Where are magnet students coming from?

While magnet programs are open-enrollment, few students actually come from outside of the district.

School districts tend to promote magnets within their own communities, often relying on word of mouth and recruiting from their own elementary and middle schools. 

At NEISD, most magnet applicants are already enrolled in the district, said Steinert, and newcomers tend to be homeschoolers or charter schoolers. 

“It’s mostly a return back home,” he said. 

In hopes of boosting enrollment, NEISD recently dropped the boundary on all campuses, magnet or not, to students outside of the district. 

NISD did the same thing last year, getting 853 applications for the inaugural 2025-26 year and 406 for the upcoming cycle as of early June. 

SAISD is familiar with the open-enrollment game. The district dropped its boundaries more than a decade ago, making it a leader in school choice. 

Last year, about 7,000 of SAISD’s 44,000 students came from outside the district. In addition to having magnets and longtime open boundaries, SAISD has several in-district charters and leads the state in 1882 partnerships, which grant outside groups control of a district school to implement their own education model.

Increased competition

The 2025-26 school year marked the first non-pandemic enrollment drop in decades. A report from the policy research group Texas 2036 found that roughly 76,000 fewer students enrolled in public school statewide.

San Antonio’s many school districts were no exception — most have seen enrollment decline in the thousands, faulting a combination of increased immigration enforcement under the Trump Administration, lower birth rates and the expansion of charter schools. 

Most districts are also in budget deficits, since public school funding and enrollment are tied in Texas.

And they’re bracing for more hits this year as families use the state’s new education savings accounts program to pay for private school tuition, influencing the push for districts to add and expand innovative programs as they compete for a shrinking pool of students.

Demand for career credentials and college credit isn’t just a trend among families, the state is paying more attention too.

State officials are in the process of implementing more guardrails around CTE programs, ranking how valuable certifications are in job market, looking at program completion rates, and investing more in CTE models.

Completion of CTE programs and earned credentials can also boost high school’s A-F state rating, while elementary and middle schools rely almost exclusively on STAAR scores.

For Ruel-Shaefer at NISD, the changing trends aren’t limited to CTE programs. She thinks families are starting to pay more attention to the options.

“The change is happening in education across the board,” she said. “One of the biggest changes has been in communication and making certain that parents have the right perspective of what education looks like now and what all the opportunities are for their students.”