Breaking Barriers: How P-TECH Schools Create a Pathway from High School to College to Career

"Breaking Barriers" shows how to redesign high schools so that all students can move on to college and successful careers. In a negation of the American Dream, a child's zip code is currently a far better predictor of success than hard work, intelligence, or resilience. This book tells the story of a school model that focuses on equity and works to prove that all young people can achieve academic excellence given the right support. P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) combines public high schools and community colleges in partnership with employers, providing both opportunity and support for all students. This innovative and effective approach eliminates barriers to replication by engaging all stakeholders. The first P-TECH, which opened in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood, is now a model for school reform. Praised by President Obama and heads of nations, its story is told through the voices of students who have shattered the myths about which students can succeed. This book: (1) Describes a successful school reform model that is operating in 240 schools across 12 states and 28 countries; (2) Demonstrates how engaging and involving all stakeholders in school reform creates partners instead of adversaries; (3) Illustrates how success in a single school has become the linchpin behind a reform movement because the key barriers to replication were removed in its very design; and (4) Delves into thorny issues like the opportunity and achievement gaps, dismal college completion rates, college debt, income inequality, and the need for skilled, diverse STEM employees. [Foreword written by Randi Weingarten. Afterword written by Rashid Ferrod Davis.]