Lewis-Palmer D-38 is rounding out its career-readiness offerings for its high schoolers.

D-38’s board of education approved new courses in robotics engineering and manufacturing, as well as entrepreneurship, during its regular meeting Monday night. The courses will be offered at the district’s Career and Innovation Center, which opened this fall, starting in the 2026-27 schoolyear. An accelerated math course for 7th and 8th grade students was also approved.

During an update on the new center, the district’s director of innovative programs, Amy Sienkowski, informed the board that they had formed a partnership with Innovate Pikes Peak, a collaboration with local industries to create career pathways for students in El Paso County.

D-38’s partnership will focus on engineering and advanced manufacturing courses, which she noted would be the first of its kind in Colorado.

The robotics course will teach students about the history and applications of robotics and automation in addition to how it is currently implemented in industry. The course may or may not run next year, depending on interest from students and available instructors.

This year, engineering and manufacturing students are working on custom electronics designs that will be reviewed by local professionals before learning about the chemistry and soldering components of manufacturing.

The school district has also joined Drexel University and the University of Texas at Dallas in partnering with Eagle Circuits. The Texas-based manufacturer will provide production time for D-38 students to develop their own circuit boards.

“This is the first course of its kind in the state of Colorado,” Sienkowski said.

Sienkowski also provided an update on the district’s health science pathway, which looks to expand at the innovation center in the coming years. Currently, 122 students are enrolled in the existing biomedical courses offered at Lewis Palmer High School, while just over 100 are enrolled in at least one of the new healthcare courses offered at Palmer Ridge High School.

“Which is impressive for a first year,” she said.

Among these new courses are an Introduction to Health Science and Anatomy and Physiology.

With Monday night marking her final meeting with the board, outgoing president Tinnifey Upchurch inquired about possible future additions to the center, such as its own JROTC program.

Sienkowski said that each career pathway will eventually provide opportunities for new student organizations as extracurricular options. Superintendent Amber Whetstine noted the district’s focus is currently on completing its first phase for manufacturing and trades classes before beginning its second phase on healthcare and cybersecurity pathways.

With that said, she didn’t rule out additions afterward.

“That is certainly something that our counseling team has been looking at and considering for future programming,” she said about a JROTC program. “Where we would do that in the future, if we were to move forward, we’re not quite ready to make a decision on.”