P-TECH

La Vega High School P-TECH program promo video.

Program Overview

Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) are innovative open-enrollment high schools that allow students least likely to attend college an opportunity to receive both a high school diploma and a credential and/or an associate degree. The hallmark of the P-TECH model is its career focus and the provision of work-based education.

P-TECH programs:

Enroll historically underserved students, targeting at-risk and economically disadvantaged
Provide students grade 9 through 12 the opportunity to complete a course of study that combines high school and post-secondary courses
Enable students to earn a high school diploma, along with an associate degree, Level 1 or Level 2 certificate, or industry-based certification within six years
Offer age-appropriate work-based learning opportunity in every grade level
Allow students to gain work experience through an internship, apprenticeship, or other job training program
Align to regional workforce needs, guiding students into high-demand, high-wage careers
Partner with Texas Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) and regional businesses and industries, giving students access to post-secondary education and workforce training opportunities

P-TECH provides students with a seamless path from high school, to post post-secondary education, to employment. LaVega ISD's P-TECH Academy offers students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and work credentials, including certifications and licenses, and education credentials, which include educational certificates, professional certificates, diplomas, and degrees. They also engage in work work-based education at every grade level, such as internships, apprenticeships, or other forms of job training programs.

Learn More

For more information about La Vega ISD's P-TECH program, contact the following:

Why P-TECH?

Students successfully complete the La Vega P-TECH Academy can:

Earn a high school diploma
Earn an Associate degree - tuition free while in high school
Earn up to 60 hours of tuition-free college credit
Earn career and technology certifications
Enter the job market with work-ready skills
Develop workplace skills through mentorships and internships with industry partners

Benchmarks

Benchmark 1: School Design

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) shall establish school structures and policies, regularly convene leadership teams, and ensure adequate staff capacity for the successful implementation and sustainability of the P-TECH program.

1.01 Student Cost

The P-TECH program shall be offered at no cost to students.

1.02 School Location

The P-TECH location shall be
a. on a college or university campus; or

b. in a high school—as a standalone high school campus or in a smaller learning community within a larger high school; or

c. at a central location, such as a CTE center. The central location is not the home campus where students are enrolled

1.03 Student Cohorts

P-TECH students shall be placed in a cohort for core classes to the extent possible; this does not exclude non-P-TECH students from enrolling in the same class.

1.04 Flexible Scheduling

The P-TECH program shall provide flexible, individualized scheduling that allows students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and enables a student to combine high school courses and college-level courses with the goal of earning industry-based certifications, certificates, and/or an associate degree, and engage in appropriate work-based learning at every grade level.

1.05 TSIA Testing Site

The P-TECH shall be a TSI assessment site or shall be in the process of becoming a TSI assessment site. The P-TECH shall provide opportunities throughout the year for students to take the TSI assessment.

1.06 Leadership Team Strategic Priorities

The P-TECH shall establish a leadership team that includes high-level personnel from the school district, campus, business/industry, and institution of higher education (IHE) with decision-making authority who meet regularly and report to each organization. The leadership team shall develop long-term strategic priorities for the P-TECH program along with a work plan for how to achieve programmatic goals in coordination with district and campus improvement planning. Regularly scheduled meetings—in person and/or virtual—must address the following topics:
a. Establish and maintain the role each member will play in the design, governance, operations, accountability, curriculum development, professional development, outreach, sustainability, and continuous monitoring and improvement of the P-TECH
b. Collectively develop an MOU and review annually for necessary revisions
c. Share responsibility (between the school district, business/industry partners, and the IHE) for meeting annual outcomes-based measures and providing annual reports to their district and IHE boards, as well as to the public
d. Monitor progress on meeting the Blueprint design elements, including reviewing formative data to ensure the P-TECH is on-track to meet outcomes-based measures
e. Guide mid-course corrections as needed

1.07 Leadership Team Key Roles

The leadership team shall include leaders from the district, campus, business/industry partner, and IHE who have decision-making authority to execute changes toward this end.

1.08 P-TECH Staff

P-TECH staff shall include the following:
a. A P-TECH leader who has authority over course and instructor scheduling, staff and faculty hiring, and budget development
b. An IHE liaison with decision-making authority who interacts directly and frequently (in-person or virtually) with the P-TECH leader
c. A business/industry partner liaison with decision making authority who interacts directly and frequently (in person or virtually) with P-TECH leader and the dual credit provider
d. Highly-qualified P-TECH teachers who work directly with the P-TECH students, which may include high school faculty who must meet faculty requirements that are set by the regional accrediting association of the community college and/or university to teach college-level courses, instructors for virtual college courses, and instructors for Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses
e. Highly-qualified P-TECH high school counselor who collaborates directly and frequently with the IHE advisor or liaison to support P-TECH students. The P-TECH counselor and IHE advisor shall jointly support P-TECH students through IHE course registration and shall monitor high school and college courses and transcripts to ensure programmatic requirements for both the high school and IHE are met

1.09 P-TECH Staff Professional Development

The P-TECH shall implement an annual professional development plan (i.e, calendar of events/ activities) for teachers and staff, focused on research-based instructional strategies for increasing rigor and college-and career-readiness, that is based on needs assessment of student data, and includes both high school and dual credit teachers. Professional development should include, but is not limited to the following:
a. A mentoring and induction program for newly hired staff, providing them with the instructional and interpersonal skills and capacities needed for success in a P-TECH
b. Faculty opportunities for P-TECH teachers and higher-education faculty to receive extensive support through regularly scheduled formative peer observations and collaboration opportunities with feeder pattern focus group and/or IHE faculty
c. An externship program to expose teachers, counselors, and/or administrators to experiences in careers in the pathways identified by the P-TECH
d. Opportunities for joint training among P-TECH and higher-education college advisors and faculty (e.g., course requirements and addressing layered wrap-around supports for students)

1.10 Sustainability Structures

Sustainability structures shall be identified and implemented to address and minimize the challenges of staff turnover and potential fluctuations in funding.

1.11 Advisory Board

The P-TECH shall establish an Advisory Board that meets regularly and includes representatives from a variety of stakeholders such as school board, community, economic development partners, relevant industry subject matter experts for program pathways, and the IHE to provide support and guidance to the P-TECH in resource acquisition, curriculum development, work-based learning, and student/community outreach to ensure a successful academic and career pipeline.

Benchmark 2: Partnerships

The Pathways in Technology Early High School (P-TECH) must have a current, signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) or interlocal agreement (ILA) with each Institution of Higher Education (IHE). The P-TECH must also have a current and signed agreement with each business/industry partner. Both agreements must respectively outline key issues related to the planning, implementation, and sustainability of the P-TECH program. Stakeholders shall review the MOUs and agreements annually. The agreements shall include the components described in the design elements below.

2.01 Goal of Higher Education Partnership

The MOU or ILA shall include the goal of the P-TECH and IHE partnership and a description of how the goals of the dual credit program align to the Texas Statewide Dual Credit Goals.

2.02 Roles and Responsibilities

The MOU or ILA shall include the respective roles and responsibilities for the campus and IHE in providing for and ensuring the quality and instructional rigor of the dual credit program.

2.03 Funding

The MOU or ILA shall identify how costs will be shared, including for the following:

a. Dual credit courses offered through the program

b. Instructional materials to be used and textbook adoption

c. Transportation costs and fees

d. Eligibility of P-TECH students for financial assistance from the higher education partner(s), specifically, waivers for tuition and fees

2.04 Academic Plan

The MOU or ILA shall articulate the academic plan, including the following:

a. Courses of study that enable a student to combine high school courses and college-level courses with the goal to earn an associate degree or up to 60 semester credit hours toward a baccalaureate degree

b. Curriculum alignment for each degree plan with a course equivalency crosswalk equating high school courses with college courses and the number of credits that may be earned for each course completed through the dual credit program

c. Transferable and applicable college credits earned during high school

2.05 Transcription of Credit

The MOU or ILA shall include components that enhance transcription of credit, including the following:

a. Assurances that the IHE will transcribe college credit earned through dual credit in the same semester that credit is earned

b. Assurances that the P-TECH will adhere to the grading periods and policies of the IHE for dual credit and college courses, including academic probation

2.06 Course Delivery and Scheduling

The MOU or ILA shall articulate course delivery and scheduling including the following:

a. The instructional calendar, including location of each course that will be offered

b. Assurances that P-TECH students are treated as dual credit students until graduation from the P-TECH program. As such, they may take dual credit courses during the fall, spring, and summer sessions to meet the goals of the P-TECH program

2.07 Staffing Plan

The MOU or ILA shall include a staffing plan for the P-TECH, including the following:
a. Teacher qualification processes, instructor availability, and course offerings
b. Joint professional development for P-TECH faculty and college and counselors/advisors (including both district and IHE faculty/staff)

2.08 Instructional Materials and Textbooks

The MOU or ILA shall articulate instructional materials and textbook policies, including the following:
a. The duration for which textbooks can be used
b. Instructional materials and textbook costs and fees

2.09 Access to Higher Education Resources

The MOU or ILA shall articulate that students will be granted access to higher education resources, including the following:
a. P-TECH students’ access to the IHE facilities, services and resources
b. Disability services available to students in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for college courses for dual credit

2.10 Transportation

The MOU or ILA shall address transportation, including the following:
a. Transportation policies, including the P-TECH and IHE respective roles and responsibilities related to transportation
b. Transportation costs and fees funding

2.11 Collaborative Outreach Efforts

The MOU or ILA shall outline the commitment that the P-TECH and IHE will implement purposeful and collaborative outreach efforts to inform all students and parents of the benefits and costs of dual credit, including enrollment and fee policies.

2.12 Student Participation

The MOU or ILA shall articulate student participation, including the following:
a. Policy on minimum class size per dual credit course
b. Student enrollment policies, including student eligibility for enrollment and pre-requisite policies
c. Student attendance policies
d. Code of conduct policies
e. Administration of statewide assessments of academic skills (TEC, Subchapter B, Chapter 39)
f. Provisions for discontinuing P-TECH operation to ensure students previously enrolled will have the opportunity to complete their course of study

2.13 Academic Supports

The MOU or ILA shall identify how the P-TECH and IHE will provide academic supports including the following:
a. Academic and college readiness advising with access to student support services to bridge students successfully into college course completion
b. Advising services for students on the transferability and applicability to baccalaureate degree plans for all college credit offered and earned
c. Policies related to student intervention

2.14 Data Sharing

The MOU or ILA shall include a data sharing agreement that outlines provisions for student data to be provided by the college to the high school and enables collaborative data sharing on a regular basis to promote student support interventions during the semester. The MOU and ILA shall also include the following:
a. Teacher data such as qualifications
b. Student-level data such as credit hours taken and earned, GPA, student academic progress, college and career readiness metrics (e.g., SAT/ACT), and formative regularly updated or real-time data (e.g., course enrollment/ dropout, TSIA scores, 6-/9-week or midterm grades, attendance for students at the high school)
c. Policies for expanding access to student data, such as granting P-TECH teachers of record and campus administrators full instructor access

2.15 P-TECH Program Data Analysis

The MOU or ILA shall identify the CCRSM program data analysis that the P-TECH will complete, including but not limited to:
a. Dual credit program outcomes that assist high school students in the successful transition to and acceleration through postsecondary education
b. The quality and rigor of dual credit courses will be sufficient to ensure student success in subsequent courses

2.16 Roles and Responsibilities

The agreement shall include the respective roles and responsibilities for the campus/LEA and business/industry partner in providing for and ensuring the quality and instructional rigor of the work-based learning programming.

2.17 Work-Based Learning Plan

The agreement shall clearly outline a work-based learning plan that will be followed to provide relevant work-based learning experiences aligned to the Tri-Agency Work-Based Learning Continuum.

2.18 Work-Based Learning Activities

The agreement shall include a detailed plan for work-based learning experiences for students appropriate to each grade level. These activities should increase in rigor and specificity as illustrated by the Tri-Agency Work-based Learning Continuum beginning with activities such as facility visits and culminating in activities, such as pre-apprenticeships.

2.19 Professional Skills and Mentorship

The agreement shall articulate that the P-TECH and business/industry partner provide mentorship activities that promote professional skills attainment, including the following:
a. A plan for career mentoring activities appropriate to each grade level
b. The roles and responsibilities of the P-TECH and business/industry partners in the planning and implementation of career mentoring
c. Support for students’ activities, such as clubs, Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), competitions, and special initiatives that promote professional skills attainment

2.20 Access to Business Resources

The agreement shall articulate student access to business/industry partners and work-based learning facilities, services, and resources.

2.21 Transportation

The agreement shall address transportation, including the following:
a. Transportation policies, including the P-TECH and business/industry respective roles and responsibility related to transportation
b. Transportation costs and fees

2.22 Qualifying for Priority Interviewing

The agreement shall include a commitment that the business/industry partner will give students who receive work-based training or education from the partner priority in interviewing for any jobs for which the student is qualified that are available upon the student’s completion of the program.

2.23 Program Monitoring

The agreement shall include program monitoring components to ensure the quality and rigor of work-based learning experiences will be sufficient to ensure student success in subsequent work-based learning, mentorship, and internship experiences.

Benchmark 3: Target Population

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) shall target and enroll historically underserved students. The campus must enable students who are at-risk of dropping out or those who wish to accelerate completion of high school to combine high school courses and college-level courses.

Enrollment decisions shall not be based on state assessment scores, discipline history, teacher recommendations, parent or student essays, minimum grade point average (GPA), or other criteria that create barriers for student enrollment.

3.01 Recruitment and Enrollment Policies

The P-TECH shall be open enrollment for all students and shall identify, recruit, and enroll subpopulations that are historically underrepresented in college courses. The P-TECH shall coordinate activities with feeder middle school(s), higher education partner(s), and business/ industry partner(s) to participate in recruitment activities.
The P-TECH must enroll a 9th grade class during their first year of implementation and will progressively scale up by adding at least one grade level per year after the first year of implementation. If a P-TECH phases out their services, the academy must be prepared to provide services to each enrolled cohort through graduation.

3.02 Documenting Enrollment Procedures

The P-TECH shall clearly document recruitment and enrollment policies and practices, refining and improving them annually based on data reviews.

3.03 Stakeholder Engagement

Recruitment and enrollment processes (including marketing and recruitment plans, materials, and timelines) shall include input from key stakeholders (e.g., parents, community members, higher education partners, and business/industry partners) and shall include regular activities to educate students, counselors, principals, parents, and school board and community members.

3.04 Lottery System

For any P-TECH at capacity, the P-TECH shall use either a performance-blind, open-access lottery system that encourages and considers applications from all students (all students have an equal opportunity for acceptance, regardless of background or academic performance) or a weighted lottery that favors students who are at risk or who are historically underrepresented for the P-TECH. Districts are encouraged to standardize lottery practices across campuses implementing the College and Career Readiness School Model.

Benchmark 4: Academic Infrastructure

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) must provide a rigorous course of study that allows students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and enable a student to combine high school courses and college-level courses with the goal of earning industry-based certifications, certificates, and/or an associate degree and engage in appropriate work-based learning at every grade level.

4.01 Regional Need

The P-TECH shall work with the local workforce development board, local chamber of commerce, and/or local workforce industry representatives to identify and maintain a list of high-demand occupations.

The P-TECH shall establish one or more career pathways that include industry relevant classes, are informed by the identified regional needs, and prepare students for high-wage, high-demand, high-skills career fields. The P-TECH shall have plans for sequencing additional courses for students in the career pathway.

4.02 Postsecondary Opportunities

The P-TECH program must provide a rigorous course of study that allows students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and enables a student to combine high school courses and college-level courses with the goal of earning industry-based certifications, certificates, or an associate degree, and engage in appropriate work-based learning at every grade level.

4.03 Course Sequence

The P-TECH shall offer a course of study that provides a detailed and relevant course sequence to the postsecondary opportunities aligned to the high school and college courses provided to the P-TECH students. This crosswalk must follow the courses and fields of study listed in the THECB Lower Division Academic Course Guide Manual (ACGM) and/or the Workforce Education Course Manual (WECM).

4.04 Course Offerings

The P-TECH shall provide a variety of opportunities for students to earn college credit (e.g., a portfolio approach may include dual credit, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), OnRamps, CLEP assessments, and local articulation agreements for specific courses in partnership with a local college) with applicability of college credits in mind.

4.05 Delivery of Courses

The campus may implement multiple dual enrollment delivery models, including but not limited to the following:
a. College courses taught on the college campus by college faculty
b. College courses taught on the high school campus by college faculty
c. College courses taught on the high school campus by high school educators who meet faculty requirements
d. College courses taught virtually, via distance/online/blended learning

4.06 Academic Performance in High School

The P-TECH shall implement a plan for End-of-Course (EOC) assessment success, including academic preparation classes for accepted students and academic interventions for students who do not pass EOC assessments.

4.07 College Readiness

The P-TECH shall provide a TSI assessment to accepted students as early as incoming 9th graders. This assessment may not be used as a prerequisite for admissions to the P-TECH.
a. The P-TECH shall publish on its website the dates, times, and location(s) for TSIA administration
b. The P-TECH shall provide assessment fee waivers for all administrations of the TSIA test
c. The P-TECH shall implement a plan for TSIA success, including academic preparation classes for accepted students and shall provide academic interventions (e.g., tutorials, workshops, testing strategies, accelerated instruction) for students who do not pass the TSI before retesting
d. The P-TECH shall review TSIA testing data, particularly the number/percentage of students who have currently passed each section of the TSI assessment to prescribe accelerated instruction to support students
e. The P-TECH shall explore alternative measures for students to meet college readiness standards

4.08 Student Data Tracking

The P-TECH shall biannually implement structured data review processes to do the following:
a. Identify student strengths and areas of growth and develop individual instructional support plans
b. Provide an assessment for measuring student progress to ensure students are on track to meet the outcomes-based measures
c. Provide an opportunity for the IHE to provide feedback on the value of the P-TECH program
d. Provide an opportunity for the business/industry partner(s) to provide feedback on the value of the P-TECH program

4.09 Student Persistence

The P-TECH shall create a plan for students off-track for success in the P-TECH program. Support systems shall include infrastructure, resources, and personnel to enable every possibility to retain the student in the P-TECH program and promote program completion.

4.10 Student Pathway Support

The P-TECH shall develop a plan to support direct-to-college student enrollment following high school graduation and a strategy to foster long-term workforce readiness.

Benchmark 5: Student Supports

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) must provide wrap-around strategies and services involving multiple stakeholders to strengthen academic, technical, and individual support for students to be successful in their P-TECH program.

5.01 Bridge Programs

The P-TECH provides a bridge program (an intensive academic preparation program that provides opportunities to strengthen academic skills necessary for high school, college readiness, and career readiness) to prepare students for the TSIA and provide academic interventions for those who do not pass the TSIA. The bridge program may also serve to support student transition from middle school to the P-TECH program.

5.02 Advising

The P-TECH shall collaborate with its IHE to personalize the learning environment for students through developing individualized student plans for ongoing academic support, filing a degree plan, and the attainment of long-term goals. The P-TECH and IHE shall develop robust college and career advising systems to support student plans and advance academic progress and shall develop a process for collaboration to provide an academic bridge across two educational systems.

5.03 Student Intervention

The P-TECH shall administer interventions as needed, including tutoring and/or Saturday school for identified students in need of academic supports. The P-TECH shall monitor academic progress with formative data.

5.04 Classroom Support

The P-TECH shall provide advisory and/or college and career readiness advising and support time built into the instructional sequence for all students. The P-TECH shall provide skill building instruction for students, such as time management, study skills, collaboration, and interpersonal relationship skills.

5.05 Wrap-Around Strategies and Services

The P-TECH shall provide a system of supports that encompasses career, academic, behavioral, and mental health supports for all students.

5.06 Enrichment Opportunities

The P-TECH shall provide enrichment opportunities, including the following:
a. A structured program of community service to promote community involvement
b. Partnering with community businesses to expose students to a variety of potential career options and possible internship opportunities
c. Establishing a mentorship program available to all students
d. Parent outreach and involvement opportunities
e. Family engagement to support rigorous course enrollment and college and career planning

5.07 College and Career Preparation

The P-TECH shall provide college and career awareness to current and prospective students and families, including the following:
a. College application assistance
b. Financial aid counseling
c. College and career counseling

Benchmark 6: Work-Based Learning

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) must offer students a variety of relevant, high-skill work-based learning experiences at every grade level that respond to student interest and regional employer needs and contribute to students earning aligned industry certifications and credentials.

6.01 Work-Based Learning Continuum

The P-TECH and business/industry partner(s) shall collaborate to ensure the P-TECH provides the following:
a. Age-appropriate work-based learning for students in the P-TECH at every grade level that includes career exploration, career preparation, and career training
b. Work-based learning experiences that are well-planned and properly sequenced to provide a progression of learning experiences for students—each one building upon the last
c. Curriculum alignment among high school, postsecondary, and industry work-based learning experience requirements

6.02 Work-Based Learning Offerings

Work-based learning may include, but is not limited to facility visits, guest speakers, presentations, career information, career fairs, interview training, skill development, resume workshops, informational interviewing, job shadowing, internships, mentoring, and apprenticeships.

6.03 Student Participation

The P-TECH and business/industry partner(s) shall ensure that students
a. are provided opportunities to reflect on their work experiences
b. demonstrate their learning in writing, portfolio, presentation, digital or by other means
c. understand the connection between their work-based learning and academics

6.04 Enrichment and Extracurricular

The P-TECH and business/industry partner(s) shall ensure students are provided the opportunity to participate in enrichment and extracurricular opportunities, such as clubs, Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs), competitions, and special initiatives.

6.05 Student Data Tracking

The P-TECH shall biannually implement a structured data tracking system and process designed to identify student participation in work-based learning opportunities.
a. The P-TECH will establish annual assessment measures and provide an opportunity for the business/industry partners to provide feedback on the value of work-based learning
b. The P-TECH shall provide an assessment for measuring student progress to ensure students are on track to meet the outcomes-based measures

P-TECH Photo Album

In This Section

PMT (P-TECH) students visiting L3 Harris