Adams 12 Five Star Schools broke ground Monday on a 36,000-square-foot expansion of FutureForward at Bollman in Thornton, adding classroom space, a public-facing salon and an outdoor CTE yard to one of the district's two career and technical education campuses. The project is being funded through a voter-approved 2024 bond and is expected to welcome students by fall 2028.
The groundbreaking ceremony, detailed in an announcement from Adams 12 Five Star Schools, featured remarks from Bollman Principal Janet Renden, Superintendent Chris Gdowski, Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann and Bollman graduate Liliana Friedenson. According to Denver7, the district is investing nearly $40 million in the expanded career and technical education space, which serves high school students from across Adams 12. The two-story addition will include new and expanded learning spaces for esthetics, barbering, dental assisting, video editing, auto body repair and culinary arts, the district said, along with dedicated space for cosmetology.
A Public Salon and Outdoor Learning Yard
The project will add a public-facing salon where students can practice serving community members, along with a CTE yard for hands-on and outdoor learning. Renden told Denver7 that demand for Adams 12 career and technical education programs has produced growing waitlists. She said FutureForward at Bollman has grown from about 300 students nearly two decades ago to roughly 1,300 students today, and the expansion is expected to accommodate about 500 additional students by fall 2028.
Renden told Denver7 that students are increasingly seeking hands-on learning and considering the financial and time commitments associated with a four-year college degree.
Students Say the Programs Change Their Trajectory
Alexander Ortiz, a Thornton High School senior enrolled in a culinary class at FutureForward at Bollman, told Denver7 that the program opened his eyes to options beyond the traditional college track. He said the appeal is being able to specialize in something students actually want and are passionate about.
Friedenson, a Bollman graduate who returned to the campus as an extern instructor for the ProStart culinary program, said FutureForward helped prepare her for culinary school and helped her explore career interests while in high school, according to Denver7's account and the district's announcement. Statewide data cited by Denver7 shows Colorado high school CTE enrollment increased 15% from the 2018-2019 to 2024-2025 school years, with 46% of high school students enrolled in at least one CTE class during 2024-2025, up from 38% in 2018-2019.
Part of a Broader Push for Trade Skills
Adams 12 says the expansion is intended to help students earn college credit, obtain industry-recognized credentials and participate in work-based learning. National policy context is available in a Center for American Progress analysis of career and technical education.
Adams 12 already operates a second CTE campus, the FutureForward building at Washington Square, a 49,750-square-foot facility that offers programs including construction trades, welding, introductory diesel mechanics and EMT training, according to architecture firm A+P, which designed the building. That project reportedly increased CTE opportunities for students there by as much as 80 percent and has since expanded into criminal justice, forensic science, fire science and advanced diesel mechanics.
A longstanding CTE network
The Bollman expansion builds on a CTE system Adams 12 says began in 1975, when the district founded the Bollman Occupational Center as part of its commitment to hands-on learning. Today, more than 5,900 students are enrolled annually across the Bollman and Washington Square campuses, according to Adams 12 Five Star Schools. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment's 2025 occupational analysis offers broader labor-market context for some of Bollman's programs: personal-care and service occupations make up a larger share of Colorado employment than of U.S. employment, with a location quotient of 1.29. That measure describes the state's employment mix; it does not, on its own, establish a shortage or hiring projection for a specific Bollman occupation.
The Bollman expansion is far from the only major CTE build-out underway in the Denver metro area. Cherry Creek Innovation Campus is in the middle of a $100 million expansion, funded by a $950 million bond voters approved in November 2024, that is expected to grow enrollment from 1,800 to 3,200 students and add nine new career pathways, according to Sentinel Colorado. That project, estimated to open in August 2026, will add programs in advanced electronics, aerospace engineering, veterinary medicine, HVAC and welding, plus a 500-person events center to support culinary and hospitality training.
