Dive Brief:
- Pathways in Technology Early College High School, or P-TECH, graduated its first six students this year with diplomas and associate degrees they earned in just four years.
- P-TECH, a project of IBM, the U.S. Department of Education, and the City University of New York, is a six-year high school that allows students to graduate with both degrees on an accelerated timeline, freeing them up for work or a four-year program.
- The Washington Post reports that three of this year’s graduates will start at IBM with salaries of at least $50,000 in what could be the beginning of a corporate shift in respecting associate degree training from specialized dual enrollment high schools serving primarily minority students.
Dive Insight:
P-TECH opened in 2011 and has gotten a lot of attention for its innovative model and support from IBM. Other schools have opened in its image with other corporate partners, some of whom may not be as willing or able to find space in their organizations for students with associate degrees — specialized training or not. The P-TECH model has been criticized for expanding rapidly based on the theory of its design more than the practical proof of its success. But leaders argue when 70% of students who enter two-year colleges still don’t have degrees three years later, giving kids the support from high school classrooms fundamentally changes their life chances.
Depending on the continued success of this model, community colleges may be called on to support such models even more in coming years.