For many students from low-income backgrounds, postsecondary pathways can offer a route to steady careers and social mobility. But who really gets to choose the most profitable pathways, and who’s being steered to less-desirable work? This session will examine pathways as a question not just of opportunity but equity, and how reporters can evaluate the programs in their own communities.

Strand: Accelerating and Unfinished Learning

Rashid Ferrod Davis is the founding principal and a member of the design team of Pathways in Technology Early High School (P-TECH) which opened in 2011. P-TECH 9–14 schools collaborate with local colleges to enable students to earn a high school diploma within four years followed by a cost-free, industry-recognized associate degree. During the six-year program, employer partners provide students with work-based learning experiences such as internships, mentoring, and job shadowing. A recent MDRC report provides three years of post-high school follow-up, including during the pandemic. Previous reports from the study showed that P-TECH students earned more credits, passed more New York State Regents exams, and were much more likely to take college courses and earn college credits in high school than comparison group students. New findings in this report indicate that the P-TECH model increased students' postsecondary degree completion, particularly for male students, and boosted internship and dual enrollment rates, even during the pandemic. P-TECH has been replicated in more than twenty-five countries with over 200 school and college partners and over 600 industry partners. The first P-TECH school in Brooklyn is partnered with New York City College of Technology and IBM. Davis has more than 25 years of service in education and prior to P-TECH he was principal of Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy (BETA) a career and technical education (CTE) high school. He is a 1992 graduate of Morehouse College with advanced degrees from Pace University, Teachers College Columbia University and Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. He is a 2012 Cahn Fellow with Teachers College Columbia University. He is the first recipient of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education Lifetime Achievement Award. He wrote the Afterword of Stanley Litow’s latest book, co-authored with Tina Kelley, Breaking Barriers: How P-TECH Schools Create a Pathway From High School to College to Career. In 2013, President Obama mentioned P-TECH in the State of the Union and then followed up with a visit to P-TECH on October 25, 2013. In 2015, Davis was selected as a New York Daily News Education Hometown Hero. In 2016 Davis was selected as a Legendary School Leader by the Black Caucus of CSA and Administrators and received Proclamations from the Council City of New York, the Assembly State of New York, 14th and 25th Senate Districts. In 2016 Davis was named to City and State’s 2016 “Brooklyn Borough 50” list for his contributions to the Brooklyn community. The Brooklyn Borough 50 annually recognizes 50 of the most powerful leaders in government, education, business, and culture who reside in Brooklyn. Davis has written about education, job skills and training in the 21st century workplace.