https://www.expressnews.com/news/education/article/San-Antonio-ISD-to-launch-3-more-P-TECH-high-15882164.php
San Antonio ISD to launch 3 more P-TECH high school programs
Andres PiconSan Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Independent School District is partnering with several local colleges and businesses to add industry and career preparation programs to three more high schools starting in the fall, district leaders announced Tuesday.
The new partnerships will bring to five the number of P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) schools in SAISD, giving hundreds more Bexar County students the opportunity to graduate with not only a diploma, but also an associate degree or certification and hands-on experience such as internships.
“This is a game-changer for our community,” said Robert Vela, president of San Antonio College, one of SAISD’s partners in the initiative. “This is just the beginning, and the launching pad that these students now have as a result of these credentials is tremendous.”
Edison High School is partnering with San Antonio College and H-E-B, Galan Graphix and Tacit Growth Strategies to launch the Edison P-TECH School of Business, where students will focus on business fields like marketing, finance and accounting.
Highlands High School is partnering with St. Philip’s College and TX FAME, a collection of companies including H-E-B, Toyota and CPS Energy, to start Highlands P-TECH for Aerospace, Engineering, Manufacturing and Welding.
Lanier High School is partnering with St. Philip’s College, the University of Texas at San Antonio and companies including Joeris General Contractors and Workforce Solutions Alamo to launch the Construction Science P-TECH at Lanier High School, where students will graduate with experience and certifications in several fields: construction technology, construction science and management, and power generation and alternative energy.
Sam Houston High School and Fox Tech High School started P-TECH programs in 2018 and 2019 for cybersecurity and health care, respectively. They were among the first P-TECH programs in Bexar County.
Education, community and industry leaders have touted P-TECH partnerships as an innovative way to offer a leg up to traditionally underserved or economically disadvantaged students while developing a future workforce for prominent local industries.
“We are launching career pathways that we know will create genuine success stories for every student that is engaged in these programs,” said Adena Williams Loston, president of St. Philip’s College.
Romanita Matta-Barrera, executive director of workforce development for the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, said the initiative to make students career-ready straight out of high school became even more important during the pandemic, which has forced layoffs, delayed people’s plans to pursue degrees and canceled internship opportunities.
“COVID has disrupted the future of work, and it’s programs like this that are truly instrumental in changing generational poverty across our city and preparing the students to be ready for college and career simultaneously,” Matta-Barrera said.
Some schools with P-TECH programs qualify for incentive funding through House Bill 3, the comprehensive school finance overhaul passed by the Legislature in 2019.
Highlands and Fox Tech have each received P-TECH grants that run through June 2022, and Highlands received an additional $122,000 grant from the state’s Jobs and Education for Texans grant program to purchase manufacturing equipment, said Johnny Vahalik, SAISD’s senior executive director of college, career and military readiness.
The new P-TECH programs will begin next school year. Applications are open now for any Bexar County student entering the ninth grade in the fall.
andy.picon@hearst.com | Twitter: @andpicon