Forty-four St. Vrain Valley seniors walked the stage at their college graduation, just weeks before graduating from high school.
These students are part of the district’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School program, or P-TECH. The students hail from either Skyline or Frederick high schools.
Students enroll in the P-TECH program in the ninth grade. Over the course of four years, they take college courses through a partner college in order to earn an associate's degree. SVVSD now offers four P-TECH programs at Skyline, Frederick, Silver Creek and Longmont high schools.
Those who attended Skyline High School received an Associate of Applied Science degree in Computer Science from Front Range Community College. Those from Frederick received an Associates of General Studies with an emphasis on Biochemistry from AIMS Community College.
For Veronica Rodriguez, a senior at Skyline High School, the program was the only option for her to go to college.
“If it wasn't for P-TECH I don't think I would've been this happy with what I've done over the past four years, I probably wouldn't be going to college if it wasn't for the program, so for that I am super grateful to the program as well as everyone part of it,” she said.
More than 60% of 2023’s graduating cohort are first-generation, minority students, according to the news release.
Many students who graduate through the P-TECH program go on to pursue a bachelor’s degree at four-year institutions where many of them pursue degrees in STEM fields, the news release stated.
“Completing this program has allowed me to build a solid foundation in the career that I would love to pursue. I've gained valuable experience in my field so early on into my career that I feel prepared to take the next step into computer science. I'm very grateful to have taken part in this amazing program, and I know that I wouldn't be the student I am today without it,” said Skyline Senior Ulises Cortez.
