Maryland Chamber of Commerce issued the following announcement on Dec. 21.
Governor Larry Hogan recently announced a proposal to expand the Pathways in Technology Early College High School program in Maryland. The P-TECH education model, co-developed by IBM, is an innovative, nationally recognized approach that blends high school, college, and work experience in one.
Governor Hogan was joined by Guillermo Miranda, vice president & global head, IBM Corporate Citizenship; Dave Velazquez, president and CEO, Pepco Holdings; Calvin G. Butler Jr., CEO, Baltimore Gas and Electric; Ken Cornew, president and CEO, Exelon Generation, which includes Constellation; Dr. Karen Salmon, Maryland superintendent of schools; Keiffer Mitchell, senior advisor to the governor; Lori Bush, P-TECH coordinator at Carver Vocational-Technical High, and Jamirah Benbow, a junior in the P-TECH Carver program in Baltimore City.
“P-TECH is one of the most creative and innovative approaches to education and represents an incredible partnership between our business community, our community colleges, and our school systems,” said Governor Hogan. “The program is open to all students, with no tests or grade requirements for admission and it gives young Marylanders who may otherwise not have much hope for a better future the opportunity to engage in an integrated education in the critical areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. The P-TECH model is not only expanding education opportunities in our state it is also strengthening Maryland’s economy.”
The governor announced that the administration will submit the P-TECH Opportunity Act of 2019 during the upcoming session of the Maryland General Assembly. The bill will improve and expand the current legislation by lifting caps that limit the state to issuing one planning grant per local school system. In addition, the legislation will lift the cap that currently does not allow for any additional schools beyond the eight already open until the 2016-2017 cohort of P-TECH students complete their six year sequence. The governor also committed $300,000 in his FY 2020 budget to fund planning grants for three additional schools, contingent upon the legislation passing, and pledged further funding if additional school partnerships are identified.
The P-TECH model enables students to graduate with a high school diploma and a no-cost, two-year associate degree in a critical STEM field in six years or less, and each P-TECH school includes a partnership among a local high school, a college, and a private sector sponsor. Maryland’s P-TECH program was implemented and expanded in the state by the Hogan administration.
“Through Governor Hogan’s vision and leadership, P-TECH schools across Maryland are putting more of the state’s students on track for successful new collar careers,” said Guillermo Miranda, vice president and global head of Corporate Citizenship at IBM. “With new technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing set to transform nearly all of the jobs we know today, equipping students with a new breed of in-demand skills has never been more important, and we commend the governor for making 21st century partnerships in education a hallmark of his administration.”
The Hogan administration has invested more than $2.3 million to develop and operate eight P-TECH schools across the state. Dunbar High School and Carver Vocational-Technical School in Baltimore were the first to open as P-TECH schools for the 2016-2017 school year. Six more P-TECH schools have opened at locations in Western Maryland, Baltimore City, and Baltimore, Prince George’s, and Montgomery counties.
“As a leading employer in Maryland, Exelon requires a strong, skilled and diverse workforce to deliver clean energy for generations to come,” said Exelon President and CEO Chris Crane. “This important jobs program provides Marylanders the technical skills they need to graduate, enter into the local employment market, earn a good income, and lay the groundwork for a prosperous and successful career.”
P-TECH schools offer students an integrated six-year education program that combines high school, college, and workplace skills required for 21st century jobs. Each P-TECH student is paired with a professional mentor, participates in workplace learning, and is eligible for paid internships with their industry partner. Upon completion, P-TECH graduates then receive “first-in-line” consideration for new collar jobs.
Launched in 2011, the P-TECH network has scaled to more than 110 schools across eight U.S. states, Australia, Morocco, and Taiwan. More than 500 industry partners and 77 community college systems are now participating in the model.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Maryland Chamber of Commerce
Alerts Sign-up