Carver Vocational-Technical Highschool is one of two schools in Baltimore City that offers a unique early college experience.
Its called P-TECH, Pathways in Technology Early College High school. Students get a free college education along with industry mentors that help guide them from ninth grade, through college and into careers in S.T.E.M.
Lori Bush is the coordinator at P-TECH and says this unique school offers students a leg up.
“A lot of our juniors already have 27 college credits going into their junior year and are halfway to their degree.”
The P-TECH Program was started by IBM seven years ago after the company felt a need to address the academic and skill gaps in America.
“The company felt an immense responsibility to take a proactive approach to remedy that issue. The benefit is clear. These are young people who get exposure like none other. They get mentors and the supports that they need to pursue a field where there is a clear need for black and brown students to enter stem fields,” said Derell Bonner, IBM Education Program Manager
P-TECH at Carver is only in its third year but those involved with the program say they have seen tremendous growth in the students. They have gone from being told they were attending this new kind of school to influencing family members to follow in their footsteps.
“Of course if you tell a ninth grader that they’re going to college the next summer, they don’t believe that they can do it but because we have the systems in place and we do send them together in a cohort, they thrive off of each other and they grow,” said Bush
“My brother is going to be in P-TECH as well and I impacted him. He saw all the good stuff that was happening to me since I was in P-TECH and I guess he wanted to be part of that fun,” said Junior Donnell Mack.
P-TECH at Carver is open for enrollment and only admits students in the ninth grade. For more information about P-TECH at carver email CoordinatorLori Bush at LBush@Bcps.k12.md.us
