Articulation - Path to College

Broad-based - Academic & Technical

Technical Skills - Leads to Jobs

Contextual Learning - Relevant to work and real world

Tech Prep education program means a combined secondary and postsecondary program that

• Leads to an associate degree with an enhanced skills certificate;
• Provides technical preparation in at least one field of engineering technology, contextual science, mechanical industrial or practical art or trade, or agriculture, health or business;
• Builds student competence in mathematics, science, and communications (including contextual academics) through a sequehual course of study; and
• Leads to employment in high skill high, wage jobs.

What is Tech Prep? Tech Prep is a sequence of study beginning in high school and continuing through at least two years of postsecondary occupational education. The program parallels the college prep course of study and presents an alternative to the general education program. It prepares students for high-skill technical occupations and allows either direct entry into the workplace after high school graduation or continuation of study which leads to an associate degree in a two-year college.

The Tech Prep program integrates academic and occupational subjects placing heavy emphasis on articulation from secondary to postsecondary education. Articulation between high school and two-year colleges embodies a competency-based, technical curriculum, designed jointly by business/labor and secondary/postsecondary schools, which teaches essential competencies without duplication or repetition. The advanced skills required to complete an associate degree at the postsecondary level in a chosen career build on the strong academic and technical foundation at the secondary level. The curricula currently being designed for Tech Prep/Associate Degree programs will prepare better educated workers with advanced skills and the ability to transfer skills as technology changes.

Tech Prep's mission in Texas is to forge partnerships within communities which foster high-performance education processes with access and support for all people. Tech Prep will result in:

• effective, efficient education enterprises;
• an academically and technically skilled workforce;
• increased career choices,
• enhanced quality of life-.
• economic security for communities and their citizens; and
• citizens who possess the ability to adapt to the future.

Tech Prep is initiated and implemented through partnerships of employers, educators, and community leaders. Tech Prep requires collaboration among these groups:

• Academic and Technical Educators--to facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation and stimulate integration of math, science, communications, and technical curricula.
• Secondary and Postsecondary Educators--to enhance opportunities for students to move smoothly from one level of education to another without duplication of efforts (e.g., high school to community/technical college or community/technical college to university); and to share resources to increase students' overall educational experience.
• Employers and Educators--to clearly communicate and establish performance standards for technical and academic areas to ensure that Tech Prep graduates have firsthand knowledge of the workplace and are ready to contribute productively to the economy.
• Other Partners--to encourage continued development of linkages with professional associations, community-based organizations, and business/education groups. Consortia encourage partnerships that produce effective use of regional resources for optimal benefit to students.

Students who participate in Tech Prep are typically:

• comfortable working in hands-on, application-rich settings;
• able to use math and science concepts learned in an application-rich setting to solve real world problems;
• capable performers in technical and scientific courses;
• successful in completing postsecondary education (which might not have been an original aspiration for these students);
• attracted to careers in growth occupations; and
• able to find jobs because they have entry-level skills (some students use skills acquired in Tech Prep programs to pay their way through college).

Dental Hygiene

Radiology Technology

Office Administration/Secretarial

Computer Science and Technology

Engineering

Agriculture Technology, Horticulture

Criminal Justice (pending)

Computer Networking

Diesel Mechanics

Welding Technology

Return to the SHS Bulldog Catalog page.