The Chester County Technical College High School, which has been in the planning stages for the past four years, is one-step closer to its September 2008 opening. On October 5, school, state, and township officials broke ground for the ground-breaking dual-enrollment high school to be built in Penn Township in southern Chester County. The facility is a joint venture of the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) and "Delaware County Community College (DCCC).":http://www.dccc.edu
Pictured above, left to right: Gary Smith, executive director, Chester County Economic Development Council; Curtis Mason, chairperson, Penn Township Board of Supervisors; Brittany Kreisel, Business Academy student, Avon Grove School District; the Honorable Arthur D. Hershey, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 13th Legislative District; the Honorable Dominic F. Pileggi, Pennsylvania State Senator, 9th Senatorial District; Dr. Jerome Parker, president, Delaware County Community College; Dr. Gerald Zahorchak, Pennsylvania Secretary of Education; Dr. John K. Baillie, executive director, Chester County Intermediate Unit; Mr. Robert McCauley, chairperson, DCCC Board of Trustees; Katherine A. Pettiss, president, CCIU Board of Directors; and Chad Martin, Animal Science student, Oxford Area School District.
“It may look like we are just building another school but actually we are reinventing high school for the 21st century,” John K. Baillie, CCIU executive director, told the nearly 150 educators, community leaders, parents and students gathered at the ceremony. “I truly believe we are building the school of the future and the Chester County Technical College High School will become the model for the high school of the 21st century – a school that enables students to be dually enrolled in high school and in college.”
As the first technical and career high school to be built from the ground up in over a decade in Pennsylvania, the new school will serve as a model for future technical and career education centers throughout the Commonwealth.
When designing the new facility, officials took the opportunity to explore a variety of options that would best meet the needs of southern Chester County and address the changing demands of the work place. As a result, plans for a grade 9-14 hybrid campus that housed programs for high school and college students was proposed, accepted and developed.
According to Delaware County Community College President Jerry Parker working with the Chester County Intermediate Unit just made good sense.
“We hear it over and over again from employers,” said Parker. “Eighty to 90 percent of future jobs, the high-skill/high-wage jobs that will fuel Chester County’s economic growth and sustain families, will require education and training beyond high school. This unique combination of technical high school and community college will provide the pool of highly-skilled workers so desperately needed by businesses and healthcare providers throughout Chester County.”
Among the officials at the ceremony was Pennsylvania Secretary of Education, Dr. Gerald Zahorchak. Zahorchak told the crowd that “having high school and college in the same building makes absolute sense,” and he referenced the already 30,000 students in the Commonwealth enrolled in dual-enrollment programs, not just in the same building.
According to CCIU officials, the dual-enrollment school will feature three distinct yet interrelated programs of study. The Technical College High School will offer traditional career and technical programs such as the ones now offered at the Center for Arts & Technology; while Delaware County Community College will offer for-credit college courses for post-secondary students seeking an associate’s degree. The most unique aspect of the educational offerings at the school will be the new dual-enrollment initiatives that blend high school programs with for-credit college courses.
In addition, the Technical College High School will relieve overcrowding at the Center for Arts & Technology Brandywine Campus, give better access to southern Chester County school districts, and provide space saving efficiencies for secondary and post-secondary utilization within the facility.
Brittany Kriesel, a senior in the business academy at the Center for Arts & Technology Brandywine Campus from the Avon Grove School District, said that although she will not be able to take advantage of the Technical College High School, she was very excited for her little sister who would be able to attend. According to Kriesel, the 90 minute round-trip drive to and from CAT Brandywine hampered her ability to be involved in extra-curricular activities at Avon Grove High School. However, her sister will not have to choose between a career and technical education and playing sports for Avon Grove. She will be able to do both.
The Chester County Technical College High School will be located at 280 Pennock’s Bridge Road, West Grove, Penna. Construction is scheduled to begin around Thanksgiving.
For more information, please visit the Technical College High School Web site or call 484-237-5200.
