Executive Summary

The North Central Texas Tech Prep Consortium represents secondary education and higher education institutions; business, industry, and labor; and community based organizations in the North Central Texas area.  It is composed of thirteen community colleges, 87 independent school districts, numerous businesses, government agencies, and several universities.  The consortium encompasses the counties of Dallas, Ellis, Erath, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell, Tarrant, and Wise.  Approved programs are also made with schools outside the planning region in Bastrop, Bosque, Freestone, Hill, Jack, Leon, Limestone, and Montague Counties.  Tech Prep Consortia are charged with coordinating the planning, development, and implementation of comprehensive programs to be implemented in the public schools and community and technical colleges.

The mission of tech prep is:

Tech Prep is a primary strategy for systemic educational change whereby teachers, counselors, administrators, and students, at both secondary and postsecondary levels, as well as parents and business/community representatives, work in tandem and altruistically, to provide all students with broad occupational and solid academic skills in order to compete successfully in a competitive workforce.

Accomplishing the Mission:

To achieve this goal, all colleges comprising the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD), Navarro college, all colleges comprising the Tarrant County Junior College District, and Weatherford College work closely with local school districts and businesses. A steering committee made up of 27 volunteers from these partner groups help direct the tech prep processes throughout the region. Fidel Castillo serves as the Project Director for the Consortium and is officed at the DCCCD.  The thirteen colleges employ an additional five professional and four support staff.

A Tech Prep education program is a combined secondary and post secondary program, beginning in high school and continuing through at least two years of post secondary education, which:

Tech Prep Programs Must Include the Following Seven Elements:

State Leadership:

The North Central Texas Tech Prep Consortium works under the direction of a multi-agency partnership which includes, but is not limited to,  the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) with authorization by the Master Plan for Vocational and Technical Education. The Dallas County Community College District serves as the fiscal agent for the Consortium.

Practical Expectations of Tech Prep:

By implementing Tech Prep processes, schools and parents should expect to reduce school dropout rates, increase student's academic skills in mathematics, English, and science, improve student's readiness for further work or study, increase the number of high school graduates pursuing post-secondary education, increase graduates of two year college occupational degree programs, and increase the number of skilled workers for area businesses in mid-level career and technical positions.

The activities of the consortium are designed to accomplish the goals outlined above.  One important and highly visible component of a Tech Prep program is the vertical alignment of curriculum  through articulation agreements.  School districts form an agreement with higher education institutions so those students receive college credit for high school courses.  Another key element is the professional development  activities for teachers, which focus on integrating workforce skills across the entire curriculum.  In addition to curriculum development, the consortium can provide support for districts as they educate students about future employment projections so the students can make informed decisions as they plan for post secondary education and high skill high wage employment in the DFW and surrounding area. In summary, Tech Prep accomplishes its goals by facilitating Professional Development, Curriculum Development, Marketing, Support, and Evaluation of the educational reform process.

Status on Curriculum and Professional Development:

TEA and THECB have approved over 55 programs submitted by the NCTTPC. Students throughout the region are enrolled in the classes and getting a head start on a high skill high wage career.  Literally thousands of instructors, administrators, and counselors take advantage of the training provided by tech prep and their business partners.

Current Approved Programs Include:

Programs Under Development Include:

Preliminary Performance of Students:

As a result of six years of implementation of tech prep, students enrolled as secondary tech prep students have met minimum TAAS expectations 6% more frequently then any other high school student.  Student retention in grades 10 through 12 is up by almost 1% over all other students. Only 1% of the tech prep students dropped out of high school during the 95/96 year. Tech prep students graduated 6% more students then all other students.  There are great expectations for student success at the college and employment levels, based on these results from the high schools.