I M Terrell Academy for STEM and VPA

Benchmark 1 - School Design

Purpose of P-TECH

The Texas Education Agency’s (TEA) Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) initiative offers an open-enrollment program that creates workforce pathways aligned with high-demand, high-wage fields throughout the state. Students enrolled in the P-TECH program work toward an associate degree while gaining hands-on work experience.

Texas P-TECH programming is inspired by the national effort to refine career and technical education. Industry and IHE partnerships with P-TECH campuses ensure that students graduate college- and career-ready. Business and industry partners provide career mentoring, host site visits, offer paid internships to enrolled students, and serve on advisory councils to improve alignment of programming with workforce needs.

Students who graduate from the P-TECH program enter the workforce with proven, in-demand skillsets, making them top candidates in their chosen industry.

FWISD School Board

• MOU between FWISD and TCC

State of the Campus

• I.M. Terrell Academy TX TEA School Report Card - 2022 ( issuance of 2023 A–F ratings under the final 2023 rule is pending and subject to change based on judicial rulings or decisions from the 88th Legislature during a special called session.)

• I.M. Terrell Academy Federal Report Card - Student Achievement by Proficiency Level 2023

•  I.M. Terrell Academy - Complete Federal Report Card 2023

Committee Members

Roles and Responsibilities
The following list is the leadership team from the district, campus, business/industry partners, and IHE who have decision-making authority to execute changes and serve on the committee.


District Leaders

• Dr. Robert Wright: Fort Worth ISD | College, Career & Military Readiness Director (internal director)

• Stephanie Tennyson: Fort Worth ISD | Career & Technical Education Coordinator (internal stakeholder)

• Dr. Meghan Self: Fort Worth ISD | Postsecondary Success Coordinator (internal stakeholder)

Campus Leaders

• Mr. Baldwin Brown: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA Principal (co-chair)

• Dr. Tania White: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA Assistant Principal (oversees textbooks, master-scheduling, and supervises students)

• Mr. Roderick Reed-Pouncy: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA Postsecondary Success Specialist (recruits students, coordinates programs of study, organizes TSIA 2.0 and collegiate and state testing, oversees the P-TECH program, collaborates with IHE and industry partners, and evaluates program effectiveness)

• Ms. Valencia Ivory: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA P-TECH Freshman Success Coach (oversees student academic plans, monitors student success, and advocates for students)

• Ms. Patricia Tamayo: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA P-TECH Counselor for 9th and 10th grade (oversees student schedules in partnership with TCC, builds student schedules, oversees student academic plans, monitors student success, and advocates for students)

• Ms. Laurie Motley: I.M. Terrell Academy for STEM & VPA Lead Counselor for 11th and 12th grade (oversees student schedules in partnership with TCC, builds student schedules, oversees student academic plans, monitors student success, and advocates for students)

IHE Leaders

Dr. Candace McGowan: Tarrant County College - Trinity River Campus | Director of Educational Partnerships (addresses front-line college obstacles for TCC South/FWISD High School students)

Mr. Ernesto Cuellar: Tarrant County College - Trinity River Campus |Coordinator of Educational Partnerships (assists with course requests, schedule changes, add/drop forms, and assists DC students and teachers as laiason between TCC and IMT)

Business/Industry Partners

• Dr. Thalia Chaney: Educate Texas Leadership Coach (acts as committee co-chair)

• Ms. Pareesa Schulte: Texas Instruments |Education Technology Consultant (external advisor)

• Ms. Netty Matthews: Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce |Primary Workforce Board Member (external advisor)

P-TECH Campus Goal for 2023-2024

•  All freshmen P-TECH students earn 9 college credits by the end of their first year of high school.

  1. Art Appreciation (3 cr.)

  2. Speech & Communication (3 cr.)

  3. Robotics Mechanisms (3 cr.)

Mentor/Induction Programs

• Fort Worth ISD New Teacher Orientation 

• Mentor/Mentee Luncheons: 8/25/23 and 12/21/23

Agendas (2023-2024)

11/13/2023 - 2024 Fall Courses and Dual Credit Academy (Brendler, White, Cuellar, McGowan)

• Presentation and analysis of data regarding current registration and retention

• Discussion of important dates

• Discussion of new career advising model (3 options: virtual/in person/group)

12/15/2023 - Fall Committee Meeting (all campus and IHE members present + Ms. Schulte)

• Shared challenges the HS campus is facing with the P-TECH pathway (TCC does not offer many of the courses; the few that are offered are hosted at TCC South; TCC does not have a professor to teach the courses; HS embedded teachers are not an option at the HS campus)

• Discussed how the HS campus will invest more in OnRamps classes to fill the gap

• Shared VEX Robotics competition victories

2/10/2024 - Course Review Discussion (Brendler, Cuellar, McGowan)

• Prioritizing the following courses:

  • • DC Professional Communication 

    • DC Robotics Mechanisms / DC DC-AC Circuits (paired semester courses)

    • DC Programmable Logic Controllers / DC Solid States Circuits (paired semester courses)

    • DC Digital Systems / DC Microprocessors (paired semester courses)

• Discussion about considering Level I certificate--Mecatronics Technology or Electronics Technology.

• Reminder from TCC partners to prioritize MATH 1314 College Algebra

Spring Meeting - TBD

Prior Meetings

• 2. • 10/07/2022

     • 11/11/2022

     •  11/18/22

     •  01/05/23

     •  04/28/2023

Professional Development Plan

P-TECH instructors, who coordinate with partners for Tarrant County College District and teach most of the P-TECH courses, participate in professional development with the college and school district throughout the school year.

Benchmark 3 - Target Population

Admission Policy & Enrollment Application

The P-TECH program shall be open enrollment for all students and shall identify, recruit, and enroll subpopulations that are historically underrepresented in college courses. The P-TECH shall coordinate activities with middle schools, higher education partners, and business/ industry partners to participate in recruitment activities.

I.M. Terrell Academy admits approximately 60 9th grade and 10 10th grade students a year. Everything from application to acceptance to the school is handled by the Fort Worth Independent School District, with no decisions being made at the school level. Students are accepted through a lottery system run by the district.

District GSPOC Policy

How to Apply

• Apply here!

• If you have more than one child, complete an online application for each child applying for a Program of Choice or School of Choice. A working email address is required to complete the online application. The email address should be a family email address that is checked regularly. It cannot be a student’s FWISD email address (stu.org) assigned to them by the district. Falsifying information on the Choices application will invalidate it, and the student’s application will be excluded from the selection process.

Lottery

• Admission is based on a computer-generated selection process. Students will be given the following weighted ranking order during the lottery process as determined through Board Policy:

• GOLD SEAL PROGRAMS OF CHOICE

  1. Students living in the school’s attendance zone

  2. Siblings of resident students who are concurrently enrolled in the school’s Program of Choice

  3. Children of resident District employees

  4. Students living in the District but outside of the attendance zone

  5. Children of non-resident District employees

  6. Students living outside of the District

Waiting List

• Students not selected to their first choice will be placed on a waiting list for their first choice unless the first choice is Arlington Heights Dance, YWLA or I.M. Terrell VPA. If applicants to these programs are not identified as eligible through the screening process, they will be placed on the waiting list for their second choice if not assigned to their second choice.

Transportation

• Transportation is provided to in-District students.

  1. Elementary Schools of Choice (SOC) and Programs of Choice (POC) bus stop locations will be at elementary school campuses.

  2. Middle school SOC and POC bus stop locations will be at middle school campuses.

  3. High school SOC and POC bus stop locations will be at middle school campuses.

Bus routes are determined by students’ home address only. Transportation is not provided for before or after school activities or extracurricular activities.

Recruitment

Each October, the Post-Secondary Success Specialist visits every middle school in the city of Fort Worth to promote the P-TECH program at mini-expos and recruit new students. 

Week 1: McLean MS, International Newcomer Academy, Kirkpatrick MS, Wedgwood MS, Jaquet MS, Meadowbrook MS, Morningside MS, McClung MS

Week 2: Daggett Montessori, JP Elder MS, Rosemont MS, Stripling MS, Forest Oak MS, Benbrook MHS, Daggett MS

Week 3: William James MS, Applied Learning Academy, Leonard MS, Monnig MS, Riverside MS, Meacham MS

In addition to mini-expos, there are four additional recruitment opportunities:

1. Field Trips--Middle school teachers, counselors, and administrators may reach out to schedule a trip for prospective students to attend a field trip to visit our campus and learn more about our program and the application process.

2. Shadow Days--A prospective student may shadow a current student to experience what a Day in the Life of a current P-TECH student looks like.

3. Open House, 6-8pm (Nov. 7)--Students, parents, and guardians may visit campus for a formal presentation, campus tour, and to meet with administrators, counselors, teachers, and current students who are all present.

4. POC Expo, 4-7pm (Nov 3) / 9am-12Noon (Nov 4)--A booth will be set up to showcase the campus' program. The PSS and other teachers are present to answer questions and recruit new students.

FWISD GSPOC Catalogs

• English

• Spanish

Benchmark 5 - Student Supports

Bridge Program Calendar and Curriculum

• 2024 Summer Bridge Schedule 

Tutoring and Intervention Program Schedules

• P-TECH instructors offer tutoring hours Monday-Friday, before school (7:45 a.m.-8:15 a.m.), after school (3:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) and during lunch at the request of students. See Online learning schedule in BM 1 for office hours during online school.

• The general academic courses and accelerated academic courses offer tutoring hours Monday-Friday, before school (7:45 a.m.-8:15 a.m.), after school (3:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) and during lunch at the request of students. Some courses will offer students evening/weekend tutorial hours based upon need or testing schedules.

• High School Credit Recovery Protocol

Advisory/study skills curriculum material

• AVID WICOR Overview

• AVID Note-Taking Strategies

• AVID Tutoring Strategies

  • All teachers are trained in basic AVID techniques and expected to implement study skills in their individual courses.

  • Grade checks and conferences with an advisor occur weekly in advisory class (30 minutes daily).

 Family Outreach Events

• Campus events are highlighted on the Student Government Instagram (@imt.stugov)

• 2024-2025 Events 

 Schedule of Counseling/Advisory Events

• Advising appointments are scheduled throughout the spring. During their conference time, students meet with their counselor to discuss their progress, goal-setting, review their degree plan, transcript, and choose future courses.

•  High School Academic Handbook and Course Catalog