Two Baltimore high schools first to join P-TECH program in Maryland

Johns Hopkins University President Ronald J. Daniels joined Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in announcing this week the first two schools that will join the P-TECH program in Maryland this fall.

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School will partner with Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, and University of Maryland, Baltimore for the P-TECH program and will offer a health science degrees in areas of concentration such as health information technology, respiratory care, or surgical technology. Carver Vocational Technical High School will partner with IBM and offer a degree focus on cybersecurity and information technology.

The P-TECH program—Pathways in Technology Early College High School—creates a school-to-industry pipeline for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. The program also partners with Baltimore City Public Schools and Baltimore City Community College, and will begin enrolling students for the 2016-17 school year.

"The P-TECH model offers transformational opportunities for Baltimore's youth and a chance to prepare our city's workforce for the jobs and careers of the future," said Daniels. "We are delighted to expand our longstanding relationship with Dunbar High School, working with this important public-private partnership to bolster the future growth of Baltimore."

Both sites were chosen by the Baltimore City school system, and each will receive $100,000 in grant funding from the state.

Image caption: From left: Radcliffe Saddler, P-TECH graduate and IBM employee; Maritha Gay; Marnell Cooper; Karen Salmon; Stanley Litow; Larry Hogan; Ronald J. Daniels; Jay Perman.

Image credit: James VanRensselaer / Homewoodphoto.jhu.edu

"Our administration is committed to thinking outside the box, and advocating for innovative solutions to ensure that every single child has the opportunity to get a world-class education, regardless of what neighborhood they happen to grow up in," said Hogan. "With the announcement of Maryland's first two P-TECH sites, students in Baltimore City will have the chance to gain in-demand skills that employers need for the 21st-century workforce, and employers here in Maryland will gain a steady pipeline to skilled professionals."

The P-TECH program was developed in Brooklyn, NY, by tech giant IBM, the New York City Department of Education, and the New York City College of Technology. In addition to learning traditional core subjects, students receive two years of free college-level instruction and advanced training in STEM-based fields so that, upon graduation, they would be first in line for attractive jobs in the tech industry.

Daniels and Hogan were joined at Tuesday's press conference by Stanley Litow, the president of the IBM International Foundation; Karen Salmon, the acting superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education; Jay Perman, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore; Maritha Gay, senior director of external affairs at Kaiser Permanente; Marnell Cooper, chair of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners; Catherine Pugh and Nathaniel McFadden, Maryland state senators; Rev. Todd Yeary, chair of the Board of Trustees for Baltimore City Community College; and the principals of Carver and Dunbar High Schools