PTECH is #1
Our guest author is Stanley Litow, author, Breaking Barriers: How P-TECH Schools Create a Pathway From High School to College to Career and The Challenge for Business and Society: From Risk to Reward; columnist at Barron's; trustee at the State University of New York (SUNY); professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs; and Shanker Institute board member.
Affordability is issue number one for Americans. They want the price of groceries, gas, childcare and health care to be more affordable and want government leaders to stop being distracted and make this their number one priority. But there is a component of the affordability crisis that goes beyond the cost of goods and services and has received little attention. It's making sure more Americans have the funds to afford a middle-class lifestyle as a means of addressing affordability. This means attention on the education and workplace skills needed to ensure not just a job, but career success Better quality education is one key to solving the affordability crisis. This means our schools and colleges embracing reforms that ensure far more youth have the education and skills to achieve career and economic success. This can be done, but it requires leadership at all levels.
This brings us to some good news. Fifteen years ago, an innovative high school opened in Brooklyn, New York. The school, called PTECH, had a core goal, to create a seamless pathway from school to college to career. Instead of a grade 9-12 high school with no connection to college or career, PTECH would integrate all three. Starting in grade 9 all courses would connect high school with college credit-bearing courses via a scope and sequence so students would take and pass both college and high school courses concurrently, getting both a high school diploma and an AAS degree in 4-6 years. In addition to collaboration and partnership between higher education and K-12 there would be an industry partner providing mentors, paid internships, and priority for employment. The initial school partners were the New York City Public Schools, The City University of New York, and IBM.
On it's 15th Anniversary PTECH was ranked by the Public School Review as the #1 vocational school in NYC, the #3 ranked high school in Brooklyn overall and 14th out of all 534 high schools in the City of New York. That incredibly high ranking isn't even the whole story. When specialized exam high schools like Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Tech, and Bronx Science, along with schools where students are screened for admissions based on tests and grades, are removed PTECH is #1 in America's largest city. PTECH is open enrollment and, the student population is 99 percent minority and overwhelmingly low income, again the highest in the entire city, with the majority of students beginning 9th grade significantly behind in both reading and math. College completion and career success is much higher at PTECH than the national average with many getting graduate degrees, including a young woman getting her PhD while working at IBM after her graduation from PTECH.
As we know, there are examples of successful innovations but one success isn’t as difficult as the challenge of replication. Yet, in year 15 of PTECH’s existence, the second part of the success is large progress in bringing PTECH to scale. Currently there are over 600 PTECH schools in 16 US states and 28 countries and the data demonstrating success in the initial school is borne out across the other geographies.
For example, in Colorado there are 28 PTECH schools with 5,500 students. According to a report commissioned by the legislature, PTECH "demonstrates its dual value as both a career pathway and student success model." The report goes on to state " data confirm significant improvement in attendance, discipline and postsecondary persistence" as well as "measurable gains including outstanding student outcomes." In one Colorado district, St Vrain’s, which has embraced PTECH across all its high schools, the results are particularly impressive. High School Graduation rates are 100 percent. Students in PTECH schools have significantly higher GPAs, PSAT scores, reading, math, and writing achievement plus strong college completion and career success. In fact, one of their students who immigrated at age 9 speaking no English got an AAS degree and a full scholarship to Harvard, where he completed his Bachelor's degree.
In Texas there are over 300 PTECH schools. In Dallas there's a PTECH school within a school in every Dallas high school. Last spring over 1,000 Dallas PTECH students completed high school and college degrees in 4 years. In New York, in addition to the initial school in Brooklyn, there are currently over 70 PTECH schools in every economic development district from the Canadian border through Long Island. In Newburgh, NY PTECH graduates who obtained AAS degrees in cyber security represent over 2/3 of all AAS degrees in cyber security at their community college partner, SUNY Orange. However, some students with their AAS degree pursue another direction. One young woman chose to go on and obtain a law degree and served as Assistant District Attorney in Orange County.
Data from Colorado, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Texas, other states and countries is evidence that PTECH succeeds, at minimal cost, serving students most in need of opportunity and assistance. This is significant for a number of reasons. First, college completion is much lower than it ought to be, especially for low-income students of color. PTECH schools' higher college completion rate is an important piece of evidence. Especially since a college degree is directly connected to approximately $1.3 million in additional lifetime earnings compared with earnings for those entering the workforce with only a high school diploma. That amounts to $30,000 more in earnings per year. And the earnings difference escalates with graduate degrees where lifetime earnings double to $2.4 million more over a lifetime. Second, skills and abilities required in the workforce are changing rapidly. Skills in a host of areas whether artificial intelligence, cyber security, quantum computing, biotech and others are affecting a host of industries and building those skills along with what had been referred to as "soft skills" i.e. problem solving, collaboration, writing and presentation. Creating a clear pathway from school, to college, to career requires the core elements embedded in PTECH
The obvious next question is, how did the success in Brooklyn grew so fast in just 15 years? The answer begins with commitment of faculty and administrators at the school and district level, coupled with leadership from the top. That means making sure all key stakeholders are engaged, not left out. The cost of PTECH is borne largely by repurposing existing funds. It also includes support from higher education leadership and industry. While initial industry partners came largely from the technology industry, partners have expanded to include over 400 industry partners from literally hundreds of companies in fields like, health care, business, advanced manufacturing, green jobs, and many others.
A dozen years ago with the initial PTECH school in its early stage, President Obama featured it in his State of the Union address. He then visited the Brooklyn school, touring its classrooms, speaking to students and faculty. He said, “This opportunity should be given to all U.S. students."
This brings us back to the affordability crisis. If the former U.S. President's vision were to be realized, and PTECH were available to all, not just some, millions more high school graduates would be college and career ready, entering the workforce at much higher wages, paying higher taxes, requiring less social safety net spending, and becoming the engine for U.S. economic growth. The benefit would be in hundreds of billions of dollars in growth. Affordability is of critical importance to our nation and PTECH is a critical part of the solution. It started with one school in Brooklyn and its success can drive success across the U.S.