RHISD to give P-TECH presentation at state summit

By ANDI ATKINSON
Special to the NEWS

Rio Hondo Independent School District (RHISD) will present on Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) at the Texas College & Career Readiness School Models (CCRSM) Leadership Summit on June 14. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) invited the district to share its P-TECH model after receiving an “Exemplar” P-TECH campus nomination.

At the CCRSM summit, the RHISD team will speak to Texas school districts selected by TEA to develop a P-TECH plan during the 2022-23 school year. The RHISD administrators will share their experience launching the P-TECH program at Rio Hondo High School and focus on the establishment of partnerships with colleges/universities, businesses, and non-profits for a solid model.

Raul Trevino, assistant superintendent of academics, believes the summit is an opportunity for RHISD to help all types of school districts plan a successful P-TECH program.

“Small, rural school districts normally don’t have the resources of large, urban school districts, but we still launched a strong P-TECH program that is already beginning to show excellent results,” he said. “We believe we can offer some valuable best practices and insight to financial resources.”

According to Trevino, Rio Hondo High School’s (RHHS) College, Career and Military Readiness (CCMR) accountability has nearly doubled from last year because of the P-TECH program.

“One hundred percent of our seniors have already submitted a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form and at least one college application,” Trevino said. “This is unprecedented for us.”

Students are also taking advantage of the new college credit offerings at RHHS.

“Even though our freshman class will be our first cohort for our new dual credit programs, we’ve already built the crosswalk,” Trevino said. “That means some of our students will graduate with an associate degree in multidisciplinary studies or a Level 1 certificate in one of our programs of study as early as next year. It’s just going to continue building from there.”

The P-TECH designation at RHHS is putting students on course to promising futures.

Want the story in its entirety? Pick up a copy of the San Benito News, or subscribe to our e-Edition by clicking HERE!