Benchmark 1: School Design
Purpose of School Design
The P-TECH program must offer open enrollment and flexible scheduling structures that enable students to combine high school, postsecondary courses and work-based learning, at no cost to participating students.
Design Elements
All P-TECHs must implement and meet the following requirements:
- The P-TECH location shall be:
- In a high school, or
- as a standalone high school campus or
- in a smaller learning community within a larger high school
- At a central location, such as a CTE Center where students are enrolled at their home campus, or
- On a college or university campus
- In a high school, or
- P-TECH staff shall include:
- A building level leader who has scheduling, hiring, and budget decisions
- Industry/Business partner liaison with decision making authority who interacts directly and frequently (in person or virtually) with P-TECH leader
- An Institute of Higher Education (IHE) liaison with decision making authority and interacts directly and frequently (in person or virtually) with P-TECH leader
- Highly qualified P-TECH teachers who work directly with the students, which may include adjunct high school faculty capable of teaching college- level courses
- Counseling staff who support P-TECH students, including activities such as: coordinating with Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) for registration, monitoring of students’ high school and college transcripts, and monitoring high school and college courses to ensure all requirements are met
- The P-TECH shall establish a leadership team that includes high-level personnel from the school district, campus, industry/business partners, and IHE with decision-making authority who meet regularly and report to each organization. Regularly scheduled meetings must address the following topics:
- Identification of members and 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
- Share responsibility (between the school district, campus, industry/business partners, and IHE) for meeting annual outcomes-based measures and providing annual reports to their respective boards as well as to the public
- Monitoring of progress on meeting the Blueprint, including reviewing data to ensure the P-TECH is on-track to meet outcomes-based measures
- Mid-course corrections as needed
- Sustainability structures to address and minimize the challenges of staff turnover and potential fluctuations in funding
- The leadership team shall include and meet regularly (in person and/or virtually) with the leaders from the school district, campus, business/industry, chambers of commerce, non-profit foundations, and IHE who have decision-making authority:
District leaders (may include):
- Superintendent
- Assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, or equivalent position
- P-TECH principal or director
- CTE Director (if applicable to the P-TECH model)
- Department chairs
- School counselors
Business/Industry Partner (may include):
- CEO/President
- Education/Community Outreach Specialist/Community Organizations such as a Chamber of Commerce and Non-Profit Foundations
IHE leaders (may include):
- College or university president
- Provost
- Department chairs for core academic disciplines
- P-TECH liaison
- Implement an annual professional development plan for teachers and staff, focused on research-based instructional strategies that focus on rigor, build college- and career-readiness, are based on needs assessment of student data, and includes both high school and dual credit teacher Professional development may include, but is not limited to:
- A mentoring and induction program for newly hired staff, providing them with the instructional and interpersonal skills and capacities needed for success in an advanced academic setting
- An externship program to expose teachers, counselors, and/or administrators to content in careers in the pathways identified by the P-TECH
- Opportunities for teachers to collaborate, plan and engage in relevant professional development
- Provide opportunities for P-TECH teachers to receive extensive training and support through regularly scheduled formative peer observations and collaboration opportunities with feeder pattern focus groups, industry/business and/or IHE partners
- The P-TECH program shall provide flexible, individualized scheduling that allows students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, industry certifications, an associate degree, and engage in appropriate work-based learning at every grade level
- The P-TECH students shall be cohorted into core classes to the extent possible; this does not exclude non-P-TECH students from enrolling in the same class
- The P-TECH program shall be offered at no cost to students
Activities
- All products shall be published on the P-TECH website and be made available to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) upon request
- All products shall be maintained in accordance with local retention policy
Products
- Mentor/induction program plans
- Annual training or professional development plan with P-TECH and IHE faculty
- P-TECH leadership meeting agendas and notes
Resources
2020 Summit: Building & Sustaining the CCR School Model, panel discussion
Asession from the 2020 CCRSM Leadership Summit. In this session mentor leaders from various campuses share lessons learned on building and sustaining a successful CCR School Models campus.
2020 Summit: School Design and Sustainability
A session from the 2020 CCRSM Leadership Summit. Seguin ECHS shares how it re-examined its school design and changed it to become more sustainable.