P-TECH offers advanced degrees to SVVSD students

For many years now, the Saint Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD) has offered students the opportunity to jumpstart their careers through the Innovation Center and the Career Elevation and Technology Center. Then, in 2016, SVVSD introduced a way for high school students to earn an associate degree along with their high school diploma, providing yet another great opportunity for local high school students.

P-TECH, which stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School, was first introduced in Colorado by the St. Vrain Valley School District. P-TECH is a program that combines high school with college and different job industries, and allows students to earn an associate degree while completing high school, giving students a head start in their careers.

The program is four to six years, based on the degree to be earned, and students join in ninth grade. The program is offered at four schools in SVVSD: Skyline High School, Frederick High School, Silver Creek High School, and Longmont High School. Each of these schools partners with community colleges and have a different associate degree that a student can earn.

At Skyline High School, students can enroll in FalconTech and earn an associate’s degree in applied science of computer information systems. P-TECH started at Skyline from a partnership with Front Range Community College and IBM.

Similarly, through EagleTech at Frederick High School, students can enroll in the program to earn an associate degree focused on biosciences. Frederick High School worked with Aims Community College and northern Colorado bioscience and pharmaceutical companies to make this opportunity possible.

P-TECH is also offered at Silver Creek High School, in a program called RaptorTech. Students enrolled in RaptorTech can earn an associate degree in cybersecurity through partnerships with Front Range Community College, Cisco, Comcast, Peak Resources, and Seagate Technologies.

Unlike the other schools, TrojanTECH at Longmont High School allows students to earn an associate degree focused on business. This opportunity is brought to Longmont High students from partnerships with Front Range Community College, The City of Longmont, and many more industry partners.

The P-TECH program is a great opportunity for students and what is even better about it is that it is offered at no cost to the student.

SVVSD Superintendent, Don Haddad, recently said in an interview with the Left Hand Valley Courier, “The SVVSD has raised the bar high, broadened the opportunity, and increased graduation rates, with many students graduating with an associate degree from high school at no cost to the student, so we took the financial barrier out of the equation."

P-TECH is the first program of its kind in all of Colorado, but has since spread to different districts in the state.

In addition, the district has made this opportunity possible for anyone who attends any of those four schools. All of the costs for the classes are covered by the district, which is a huge benefit for students who may not be able to afford to go to college. The district will pay for all of the classes, allowing students to graduate with their associate degree and begin working in their chosen field immediately out of high school.