Dallas ISD Board of Trustees Dan Micciche, District 3

New Year, New Hopes for the Future

As we start a new year, I’m looking forward to the future and to building on our successes. One success that stands out is Dallas ISD’s P-TECH program, which has been a win for both our students — who gain entry to highly skilled, high-income jobs right out of high school — and our industry partners, who help to build their own pipeline of qualified future employees. 

The Pathways in Technology Early College High School program allows students to graduate with a high school diploma and up to 60 college credit hours at no cost, in addition to an associate degree, career and technical certifications and the option to attend a four-year university. The program provides them mentoring, worksite visits and internships, and puts them first in line for job interviews and employment. 

As for employers, past surveys have shown that 50 percent of them reported difficulty in filling their talent needs. The  P-TECH program is a critical tool in changing that. 

The facts about P-TECH speak for themselves. Here are the highlights:  

• In 2021, a full 10 percent of the class (898 students) graduated with an associate degree. Contrast that with 2009 when, six years after high school graduation, only 7 percent of students had obtained an associate degree. 

• From 2016 to 2021, students earned 965 Dallas College certificates, with a total of 204,517 credit hours. As of 2021’s graduating class, 1,526 total associate degrees were earned. 

• The district has 90 industry partners participating in the program, ranging from airlines to technology firms, university systems and just about every field in between. 

• Dallas ISD high schools offering P-TECH programs include: Adamson, Bryan Adams, Conrad, Lincoln, Samuell, Sunset and W.T. White.  

• From 2018 to 2021, 682 students completed internships through the P-TECH program — 416 last school year.

• Industry partners providing internships in 2020-2021 included: American Airlines (7), Accenture (21), PepsiCo (32), Thomson Reuters (48) and IBM (287). 

• Student earnings for the summer of 2021 were estimated at more than $1.6 million. 

• Twenty-eight 2021 graduates were hired for full-time or part-time jobs through the P-TECH program.

As we prepare our students for adulthood, no program is doing more to equip them with the skills they need to fill the jobs of the future. Thanks to all our partners, and congratulations, P-TECH students! 

Staying safe in 2022

As classes resume following the holiday break, Dallas ISD remains committed to following established safety measures: requiring masks, practicing social distancing, continuing cleaning and hygiene efforts and frequent testing. The district will reassess its mask mandate at spring break. Please stay safe, follow the protocols, and stay at home and consult a health care provider if you are ill.