This story is a continuation of RPS’s coverage of P-TECH and Career Development Month
P-TECH, or Pathways in Technology Early College High School, is a unique public-private partnership between Rochester Public Schools (RPS), Rochester Community & Technical College (RCTC), Mayo Clinic, and IBM.
One of the two pathways offered at P-TECH is the Information Technology (IT) pathway. RPS 8th graders can enroll in this pathway and graduate with an Associate’s Degree in Applied Sciences.
Partnering with IBM and RCTC, the IT pathway at P-TECH helps RPS students get workplace experience, job shadows, assigned mentors, paid internships, and a foot in the door of IBM with priority interviews after their graduation—all tuition-free.
With the first cohort of students who have gone through all four years of the program graduating this upcoming spring, students now have a comprehensive view of the P-TECH program and their path to a professional career.
Micah Satele is a senior at Century High School, graduating from the P-TECH program this spring. “The internship could be the best thing for my career so far. I get to see what a typical day looks like at IBM and that’s something a lot of my peers aren’t seeing who aren’t in the program.”
It’s not just the partnership with IBM that makes this program worthwhile. Minh Nguyen, a senior in the program, found the curriculum taught at P-TECH was of the same quality as his RCTC courses.
“If you want to be set up for success in your college courses, the support at P-TECH can do that,” he said. “The things I was doing sophomore year in P-TECH were so close to the things I was learning in RCTC.”
Beyond the scheduled curriculum, students also get the opportunities to develop skills that may not be directly associated with their pathway. At the end of every year, P-TECH students host a ceremony where students and community leaders celebrate the work accomplished from the last year. Isaac Domaille is a junior at Century High School who got to speak at this engagement last year.
"Last year, we gave speeches, the superintendent was there, our senator, Carla Nelson, a lot of the school board members were there, and it was a really great experience to practice speech and putting yourself out there," he said.
Despite the scientific nature of the IT pathway in P-TECH, first-year student Andres Pommerenke found the courses open to expressing creativity.
“I knew about software development before I got to P-TECH, but I didn’t realize how expressive I could be in a field that I thought was fairly rigid. Between UI design and game design, there’s a lot of ways you could go within the program,” he said.
For families considering this program but don’t want their student to miss the “traditional high school experience, these students can provide some words of encouragement.
Micah got his driver’s license his sophomore year, and that changed his viewpoint of missing out on high school experiences. “I maybe had FOMO my freshman year, but once I could drive myself, that pretty much went away. I'm a very social person. I like to go out a lot, hang out with my friends—but I got my license early in my sophomore year, so ever since then, it hasn't really been a problem.”
Isaac found his high school experience actually grew closer friendships with his peers. “When you’re with the same 60 or so kids for an entire program, you get really close to each other. And because it's half time during the high school year, it's still pretty easy to make sure you're connected with friends from your home high school.”
Before you or your 8th grade student decides to apply for P-TECH, read some of the quotes from each grade level of the P-TECH program.
Micah Satele, 12th grade: “My advice to kids who are thinking about enrolling in the program is to enjoy the moment, ask questions, and broaden the opportunities that are available.”
Minh Nguyen, 12th grade: “I’d say to my 9th grade self to enjoy meeting new people. You’re going to get a slice from all the RPS high schools.”
Isaac Domaille, 11th grade: “I would tell myself that P-TECH really does an amazing job ensuring that all students are kept up to a high standard and that if you do put the work in, you'll do great in this program because they're amazing teachers. They have amazing programs, and they're really capable of making sure that you are prepared for college, and that transition is definitely one of the smoothest ways to get into college."
Eldana Bekele, 10th grade: "They were definitely encouraging. And if there were people who didn't think that this was a good fit for them, they would try to help them with any struggles that they were having, and if they really didn't like maybe it or nursing, then that would be their choice. But the counselors and the teachers were definitely very supportive."
Andres Pommerenke, 9th grade: “P-TECH is certainly more self-paced than what I was doing at middle school. It’s cool seeing how the things I’m working on will directly translate into the career that I’d like to go into.”
Thanks to RPS voters who approved the Ignite Student Learning Referendum, the P-TECH program will be able to continue.
Registration of P-TECH is only open to incoming 9th grade students. For additional information, please contact Kari Kolling Anderson via her email address, or visit the P-TECH website at www.rochesterschools.org/ptech.
Careers in high-demand roles require programs like P-TECH. In turn, fulfilling these roles with young people is essential to leave a path forward for even younger generations. Career Development Month has provided a great opportunity to spotlight the work Programs like CTECH and P-TECH. Look at the photos from CTECH on a Monday.