More than 1,600 incoming ninth-graders to the district’s 18 collegiate academy P-TECH programs received first-hand college experience during a two-week summer boot camp.
Dallas ISD and the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) operate the collegiate academies that provide an opportunity for students to earn up to 60 hours of college credit or an associate degree—at no cost to students or their families— while earning a high school diploma. The Texas Success Initiative Boot Camp held June 12–23 provided an opportunity for the incoming ninth-graders to visit the respective college campus they will attend as students in the P-TECH program. Key staff at all seven DCCCD campuses and the University of North Texas at Dallas met with collegiate academy students, who also received college identification badges and participated in college orientation sessions as a component of the boot camp.
The collegiate academies are P-TECH programs that provide students with combined high school, college and career experiences. More than 52 industry partners have joined Dallas ISD and the DCCCD, agreeing to provide students with mentorship, site visits and potential opportunities for internships and job interviews.
Usamah Rodgers, Dallas ISD Assistant Superintendent of Strategic Initiatives and External Relations, expressed excitement about the opportunity to enhance the summer boot camp curriculum with career development experiences through participation from the various industry partners.
“A significant number of our industry partners participated in the summer boot camp, providing instruction related to workplace learning competencies and facilitating problem based learning activities,” Rodgers said. “Students participated in design challenges and seminars facilitated by industry professionals.”
Officials from Dallas ISD, DCCCD, UNT Dallas and the industry partners says they are excited to begin the 2017-2018 school year. There has been remarkable interest in the collegiate academies. The collegiate academies received more than 4,800 applications for about half that many spots during the last application period that was open December 5, 2016 – January 31, 2017.
Go here for more information about the collegiate academies.
