Niagara Falls City Schools Superintendent Mark Laurrie said the word is out on the extraordinary program that begins with eighth grade students taking high school classes so they can begin college courses in ninth grade. There are only 12 such programs across the state.
“I can’t get 80 parents to a high school event for anything,” Laurrie said. “They know it’s successful, they know the rigor, and they know college will be paid for.”
Laurrie said the school open house for the Pathways in Technology Early College High School program (PTECH), in which the computer science program is seated, was intended to recruit for 25 slots in next year’s ninth grade class.
“It’s one of the best programs that we have,” Laurrie said. “It’s highly rigorous and it’s relevant for what students are trying to do and be. The state has really thought that we’re doing an exemplary job here.”
The district, and SUNY Niagara, moved something similar to a mountain — a class schedule — in order for students to accelerate their learning.
“We try to clear their high school schedule by having them take regents courses in younger grades,” Laurrie said. “It requires kids to really want this and to be on the ball in the eighth grade. Some kids struggle, but they have a like and aptitude for the subject which makes them work hard.”
Participating eighth-graders have to attend a three-week part-time summer academy, and then start taking college classes the summer after ninth grade for five weeks, Laurrie said.
SUNY Niagara obtained a $4.5 million grant from the New York Department of Education to fund the initiative in the North Tonawanda and Niagara Falls districts, according to Brian Michel, assistant vice president to academic affairs and economic development. Implemented in 2024, the program is funded for seven years, and is worth $13,910 in tuition for each student who earns an associate’s degree, Michel said.
“Niagara County has student populations from economically diverse backgrounds, who would not have this opportunity otherwise,” Michel said. “You don’t have to meet certain criteria, other than being a student in the district, to participate. This is an opportunity that provides generational transformation. And it’s not just about them graduating here and going into the workplace. They have an opportunity to transfer into a four-year degree program.”
To offer a college-level program at high schools, SUNY Niagara faculty and college administration meet with the districts throughout the school year to monitor and collaborate with curriculum development and student progress, Michel said. SUNY faculty act as mentors to the district faculty to ensure that district instructors have the appropriate training.
“We’re making sure that everything is there that the student would expect if the education happened here on campus,” Michel said.
Industry partners are also part of the fabric of the program. For computer science, Ingram Micro has committed to offering presentations throughout the program, providing tours of their facilities, offering job shadowing, and entry-level employment when students reach working age. Michel said industry partners provide input into the curriculum so that students learn what the industry needs.
“The students through this program and the partnership with the technology industry, have a direct path to employment in the technology sector upon graduation,” Michel said. If students don’t complete their associate’s degree by the end of high school, the grant pays for up to a year of continued study at SUNY Niagara, he added.
“I wish I had this opportunity growing up. I would have been a PTECH graduate myself.”
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