A legislative bill may help some freshmen in Texas get an early start on technology careers. Senate Bill 22, currently in the House, proposes to implement a new technology education program called P-TECH or Pathways in Technology Early College High School.
In SAISD’s current program called tech-prep, students take technology courses over the summer that are not tied to certificates or advanced degrees. Early college programs allow high school students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez serves on the P-TECH committee. He says P-TECH is more than just early college.
“P-TECH for me is the next generation of early college programs,” Martinez says. “What we’re doing now is going a step further and saying not only should children look at having certificates and associates degrees, but how do we connect them to employers. When you look at cities like San Antonio that have needs in health care and technology, many of the trades, frankly, their employees are retiring.”
Martinez says P-TECH would prepare its students for those job openings. Specific technology companies would partner with specific schools. Preliminary conversations have begun with Accenture, Valero and the Zachry Group among others.
Luz Martinez is the principal at Highlands High School. She says P-TECH would help the school strengthen its program in engineering which is one of her goals.
“If we look at the career trend of the future, we are trying to create opportunities for students for the jobs that perhaps don’t exist, but certainly will be there,” Martinez says.” We have companies that are not able to fill some of the positions that they have because they don’t have the skilled personnel.”
The program is also partnering with the University of Texas San Antonio and Texas A&M San Antonio where P-TECH students would earn their bachelor degrees through guaranteed financial aid and scholarships.
If the bill passes, the legislation would provide a $5 million start up grant for the state program. The program would begin fall 2018.