Tech Thursday: P-Tech; It’s Here, It’s Now, and It’s Part of the P3, CCSS Machine

Maybe you live in NY or CO and have heard of “P-Tech”; maybe you live elsewhere and have heard of it. Maybe it’s a new term for you. However, either way, it’s still more CCSS and CTE (Common Core State Standards and Career/Technical Education). Join me today as we discover just why the current President is so in favor of this program.

The Year was 2013:

According to what I found, back in 2013, the current President of the USA brought “P-Tech” up in his State of the Union address. After a litany of ‘hot’ topics which included healthcare, the economy, and, more, the President tackles education. First he shares the plans about early education…and then the ‘clincher’..here’s the text excerpt, “Let’s also make sure that a high school diploma puts our kids on a path to a good job. Right now, countries like Germany focus on graduating their high school students with the equivalent of a technical degree from one of our community colleges, so that they’re ready for a job. At schools like P-Tech in Brooklyn, a collaboration between New York Public Schools, the City University of New York, and IBM, students will graduate with a high school diploma and an associate degree in computers or engineering. We need to give every American student opportunities like this. Four years ago, we started Race to the Top – a competition that convinced almost every state to develop smarter curricula and higher standards, for about 1 percent of what we spend on education each year. Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge to redesign America’s high schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. We’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math – the skills today’s employers are looking for to fill jobs right now and in the future.”
The entire text can be found: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/us/politics/obamas-2013-state-of-the-union-address.html?_r=1

Related documents you’ll find helpful with the context above:
1) Reinventing_American_High_School (published 2006) but very telling considering the CCSS agenda and the President’s above message. You’ll need to really take a close look at this entire document which is full of all kinds of useful anti CCSS and adult version CCSS (CTE) information.

2) I’m including an NC specific 2013 STEM, Race to the Top report so you can see what a) one looks like and the strides toward re-invention that have been made;  b) what your state’s RttT STEM paperwork may contain; c) how “New Schools” is interwoven (among other known CCSS aligned efforts), and d) how your LEAs are part of the efforts to re-invent high schools. (again, think the context of the President’s speech). What’s worth noting is that for every year NC’s had RttT funding used, there’s a report detailing it, especially when it involves STEM (that’s the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math the President mentioned). NC had a 2014 report about RttT and STEM as well.
RttT-STEM_Y3-Report_FINAL_12-05-2013
(*NOTE: New Schools tie to all this (apart from being part of the CCSS Machine) is not only ‘transforming public education’ {per their website}, but  funded by some of the biggest Common Core profit makers known to us, to date. See their donors page for proof, http://www.newschools.org/donors ) 
Back to the P-Tech:

One of the resources I discovered which led me to P-Tech actually comes from VSA Partners and their announcement about the President’s text, the P-Tech, and the CCSS friendly related groups, like IBM and Time magazine. See their announcement, http://www.vsapartners.com/news/vsa-branded-educational-model-has-fans-in-high-places/ If you’d like to learn what VSA does and how IBM is one of their partners, see their ‘About’ web page, http://www.vsapartners.com/about/ (*NOTE: did you notice how IBM is a part of the CCSS Machine and that VSA is a partner of theirs? Does that mean that VSA is also a part of the CCSS Machine? In a simple answer, I believe it’s ‘yes’.)

As was mentioned in the 2013 State of the Union address, the NY Schools was mentioned. Here’s the website I was able to find about P-Tech. See: http://www.ptechnyc.org/site/default.aspx?PageID=1
Briefly stated, the purpose of a P-Tech is not only early college in high school and STEM, it’s “express intent was to create an innovative, replicable model for education — one that united the expertise of the public and private sectors to provide new opportunities for young people, and addressed the need to strengthen the continuum from school to college and careers.” (see the entire purpose,
http://www.ptechnyc.org/domain/43)

The guide to re-designed STEM schools (ripe with Common Core and Career Pathways interwoven in them) can be found, STEM-Pathways-Playbook_Feb-2012 How do I know that STEM and Career Pathways connect to Common Core? Two documents, my fellow warriors. First, the PCAST document that is pre-2013 State of the Union address’s timeline, but is essential in tying STEM to Common Core as STEM being the agenda and CCSS being the vehicle of choice to deliver STEM to the masses of citizens. Then, the Pearson, Harvard University “Pathways to Prosperity” report, which helped create the Career Pathways you now see in high schools and post-secondary schools. The “Pathways” are even showing up as early as 3rd grade in some states.

The documents mentioned above:
1) PCAST’s document will give you these actual facts; a) “Since the beginning of the 20th century, average per capita income in the United States has grown more than seven-fold, and science and technology account for more than half of this growth. In the 21st century, the country’s need for a world-leading STEM workforce and a scientifically, mathematically, and technologically literate populace has become even greater, and it will continue to grow – particularly as other nations continue to make rapid advances in science and technology. In the words of President Obama, “We must educate our children to compete in an age where knowledge is capital, and the marketplace is global.””. This document is included in one of my very first blog articles, where I point out for you just HOW STEM is being used against Americans via Common Core. You’ll also find the PCAST report embedded in my article. See: https://www.commoncorediva.com/2014/09/02/from-the-files-pcast-stem-and-common-core/

2) Getting to the “Pathways for Prosperity” can be found in my original post, https://www.commoncorediva.com/2015/01/08/tech-thursday-national-career-pathways-network/ AND https://www.commoncorediva.com/2015/03/12/tech-thursday-difference-between-careers/ Both of these articles are directly related to P-Tech via the Pathways and all the Career Paths the President was referencing, as well as the P-Tech website.

If you wonder how supportive IBM is of the CCSS, here’s an excerpt, “A company like IBM or all the other companies that we do business with depend on a high-skilled workforce, and the Common Core is directly connected to giving our kids the skills that they need to be effective in the workplace,” said Stan Litow, President of IBM International Foundation.” See the entire article, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/businesses-want-common-core-for-common-reasons/ (*NOTE: be sure to watch the short IBM video statement giving the thumbs up to CCSS, and Career Tech alignment)

So why bring this ‘old news’ up now? Because since the CCSS Machine began to churn, effort after effort across the nation has been made to bring this ‘dream’ of career alignment, STEM/ CCSS agenda, and our schools to become a stark reality. As seen in this recent Denver article,
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_28348239/guest-commentary-reaching-true-potential-colorados-workforce

Is a P-Tech School in your state’s future? Use the above evidence to investigate!