Tacoma's New Skills Center - Maritime 253

Where the Port Meets the Classroom: Inside Tacoma's Maritime 253 Skills Center

By Nichole Schmitt, Program Manager, Washington State Cybersecurity Center of Excellence

Imagine a high school campus where classroom windows overlook active port operations, where industry professionals walk the halls as regular guests, and where students learn to defend the very infrastructure that powers their city's economy. That's not a vision of the future — it's what's taking shape right now on the Tacoma waterfront.

This fall, the Maritime 253 Skills Center opens for its first full academic year, welcoming high school juniors and seniors from nine school districts across Pierce County and Vashon Island. I sat down with Director Kristie Wolford to hear how this remarkable institution came to be — and why its cybersecurity program is a model worth paying close attention to.

Born from a Superintendent's Vision and a Port's Need

The Maritime 253 Skills Center didn't emerge from a curriculum committee. It grew out of a decade-long conversation between Tacoma Public Schools and the Port of Tacoma — one of the most significant economic engines in the Pacific Northwest.

That conversation eventually became a plan. The Port of Tacoma, preparing to relocate its main operations building, recognized an opportunity to co-locate a school on the new site. With voter-approved school construction bond in 2020 and OSPI approval, construction began. What makes this arrangement extraordinary is not just physical proximity — it's the depth of collaboration baked into the design.

The port didn't simply donate land. Port employees will be embedded in classrooms on a regular basis through an interlocal agreement currently being finalized. The two organizations share a campus and common area, and the port's own building is expected to open just months after the school. They will literally be neighbors.

Cybersecurity Rises to the Top of Maritime Workforce Needs

When leaders across the maritime industry were asked about priority workforce needs, cybersecurity rose quickly to the top.

“Cybersecurity was at the top of the list. Maritime systems face thousands of intrusions attempts every month.” - Kristie Wolford, Skills Center Director.

From vessel navigation and cargo tracking to shipyards, terminals, and environmental systems, modern maritime operations depend on highly interconnected digital infrastructure. Protecting these systems requires a skilled local workforce. Maritime 253 was designed to help build that pipeline, starting with high school students immersed in the industry around them.

This fall, Maritime 253 will install the Marcraft Cyber Security and Environmental Systems Lab, giving students hands-on experience with industry-aligned maritime technology. The cybersecurity track moves from IT fundamentals into networking, ethical hacking, and scripting.

Why the Maritime Context Makes Cybersecurity Education Richer

One thing I've learned from two years of interviewing cybersecurity professionals: you can earn a generalized degree, but the moment you step into a job, you have to start specializing. That specialization usually happens on the employer's dime, through extra training, or by trial by fire.

Maritime 253 is building that specialization into the curriculum from the start. Students won't just learn abstract security principles — they'll learn how cybersecurity applies to maritime and industrial control systems, a domain with its own threat landscape and vulnerabilities. The program will even feature autonomous vessels and underwater ROV’s as learning platforms.

This is nearly impossible to replicate without the kind of deep industry partnership Maritime 253 has built.

Where Cybersecurity, Mechatronics, and Maritime Intersect

The Skills Center offers distinct learning pathways, but Wolford emphasizes that real-world work doesn't stay in neat lanes. The mechatronics program — aligned with Clover Park Technical College — shares territory with the cybersecurity track, and a teacher who bridges both will be on staff. Securing modern industrial systems requires understanding how those systems work mechanically and electronically, not just digitally.

Built for Multiple Pathways

Every program at Maritime 253 is structured around five potential next steps: direct-to-industry employment, two-year or four-year technical colleges, four-year universities, and military service. Multiple classes are being aligned for dual credit with local community and technical colleges. As the Skills Center grows, it will build more alignments with universities for college credit.

The goal is that every student who walks out carries recognized credentials and a clear sense of where they open doors.

A Model for the Region

This workforce development partnership between industry and public schools is a pattern to emulate. 

As educators built this program, they did not need to guess what industry needs. Here, industry came to the table first — identifying the needs, articulating the gap, helping design the solution, and committing to stay involved long after the ribbon-cutting. The Port of Tacoma isn't a sponsor with a logo on the wall. It's a co-architect of the learning experience.

The geography matters. There's something powerful about learning cybersecurity in the same physical ecosystem where the stakes are real — where the industry being protected is visible, the professionals visit the classroom, and career pathways link directly with the students' community.

Enrollment is still open for the fall! Learn more at www.Maritime253.org.

Nichole Schmitt is the Program Manager for the Washington State Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, which works to advance cybersecurity workforce development across Washington state.