Smart Scholars Celebrate Early College High School Week

echs-week2013logoWelcome to the 2013 Celebration of Early College High School Week! The Smart Scholars Early College High School (ECHS) Program brings together a powerful public/private partnership between SUNY, EDWorks, and the New York Department of Education.

The SUNY/EDWorks partnership is excited to showcase our 23 state-wide Early College High School programs. We are very proud of our Smart Scholars and the hard work they put in to be ready for college and career. We look forward to sharing their stories with you.

We will kick off this week by highlighting a few inspirational students and faculty, which you can read about below. Please tune in the rest of the week for the history of the programs, individual achievements, program developments and coverage of the ECHS Week activities all week long!

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Obama Holds Up Smart Scholars Early College High School as a Model in State of Union Address

P-TECH principal and student watch State of the Union address

Principal Rashid Davis with P-Tech student Amanda Crawford watches President Obama deliver his State of the Union Address

Here at SUNY we were excited to hear President Obama shout out a Smart Scholars Early College High School (ECHS) during his State of the Union speech. Pathways in Technology Early College High School (or P-TECH) is a Brooklyn, NY Smart Scholars ECHS where SUNY provides coaching and technical assistance.

New York City’s Pathways in Technology Early College High School is an ECHS that offers the potential for students to earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree in technology. Through a partnership with IBM, City University of New York, New York City Department of Education, and the New York State Education Department (NYSED), students at P-TECH earn a free Associate’s degree in applied science along with their Regents diploma and in doing so are first in line for an entry level job at IBM. At P-TECH, SUNY/EDWorks coaches provide technical assistance to staff to make sure the high standards at P-TECH apply to staff as well. By hosting professional development workshops and through in-class observation of instructional practices, they work with teachers to strengthen their cooperative teaching practices and interdisciplinary unit planning.
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